


Petals and Pomegranates

by livian



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: AU but still somewhat canon compliant, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Greek Mythology, Anxiety, F/M, Fire Emblem: Fates Spoilers, Fluff and Angst, Hades and Persephone AU, Mentions of past child abuse, Nohr family - Freeform, Pseudo-Incest, Romance, also Camilla as a Demeter analogue for obvious reasons, but there will also be tickle fights, post-war trauma is still a thing even if they've mostly gotten over it by now, there will be tears
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-04
Updated: 2016-10-14
Packaged: 2018-07-29 06:31:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 53,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7673692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/livian/pseuds/livian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"In years to come, mortals would write novels and sonnets about this chapter in the story of the gods—how the god of the skies and his embittered brother, the lord of the Underworld, made arrangements for the date and place when the latter’s chariot would arrive to fetch the maiden.</p><p>How the fair young goddess was sitting peacefully in a field beneath the foot of Mount Krakenburg, gathering flowers for her beloved elder sister, when the dark chariot materialized to collect her.</p><p>How the goddess, unaware, was pulled into the chariot, scattering rose petals in her wake as she was stolen away to the Underworld."</p><p>Or: the story of a massive misunderstanding, an accidental abduction, and how the goddess Corrin fell in love with the lord of the Underworld.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Dark You Call a Home

“Your soul will go to the Fields of Punishment.”

A sharp shout rang through the throne room, refracting off its high ceilings and black pillars. The burly man’s face twisted as he knelt before the throne, his incorporeal form flickering with anguish and fury. “No, my lord! What’d I ever do to deserve that?”

“Let me see,” said the lord of the Underworld, perched rigidly on his throne. His voice was slow and level, but his brown eyes were as cold as winter. “You’ve committed multiple cold-blooded murders, even more robberies… Oh, and there was the occasion on which you killed several Hoshidan mortals in order to instigate a war between the gods, _and_ attempted to murder my sister, the goddess Corrin, in the process.” He folded his arms across his chest, glaring down at the dead man with one eyebrow arched. “Is any of this ringing a bell for you, Hans?”

“I did it for Nohr!” Hans exclaimed. “Your father ordered me to, remember?” He launched a glob of spit from his mouth, barely missing the lord of the Underworld’s feet. “And he was twice the god that you—”

Hans was silenced when Niles, one of the god’s retainers, seized his arm and jerked him to his feet. “Quiet. Lord Leo has already sentenced you to the Fields of Punishment, and honestly, you’re not making yourself look any less punishable by running your mouth. Or spitting out of it. Should you even be able to spit, since you’re dead?”

Hans narrowed his eyes. “Wanna find out?”

“Oh?” Niles grinned, leaning closer to Hans’s face. The criminal cringed back. “Say, that’s quite forward of you—but unfortunately, you already have a date with the Fields of Punishment that just can’t wait. Come, Odin, let’s make sure he shows up on time.”

Leo’s other retainer, Odin, darted forward from his position beside the throne, grabbing Hans’s other arm with a flourish of his hand. “My spell hand aches to cast this miscreant into the abyss!”

Leo watched as his retainers hauled a still-protesting Hans out of the throne room. “I’ll get you for this!” Hans said.

“What can you do?” Leo shot back with an easy smirk. “I’m already in hell.”

He only allowed his shoulders to slump and his mouth to droop once the doors had closed, leaving him with only his thoughts for company.

He had long ago lost count of the years in which he’d served as the lord of the Underworld. Before the war, he’d simply been the god of wisdom—young and ambitious and revered by the mortals of Nohr. He had dwelled at the peak of Mount Krakenburg with the rest of his family, with plenty of time to devote to his studies and, sometimes, even time left over to read for pleasure. His existence on Mount Krakenburg hadn’t been idyllic, but Xander, Camilla, and Elise were never too far away. They had walked among the mortals of Nohr quite often, and made many visits to Corrin in her tower in the north. Always, Leo was encompassed by life.

Now, he was surrounded by death. Day after day after day, the souls of the dead lined up in an endless procession outside his throne room, awaiting his judgment, and he had to decide the fate of thousands upon thousands of souls. Hans was an exception—Leo had long waited for the berserker to perish, so his soul would come before Leo’s throne to face punishment. But the rest? He’d never encountered most of these people before, and yet it was his duty to determine their eternal destinations.

And it was always so _dark_. As a god of Nohr, Leo wasn’t unaccustomed to darkness—his family’s lands were often cloaked in clouds and shadow—but the Underworld was something else entirely. Elysium, where the greatest, most deserving souls were sent, was filled with blissful light, and the Fields of Asphodel weren’t especially dismal either, but the rest… The Underworld was so dark that the day looked the same as the blackest night. The bleakness was as thick as tar, wrapping around his feet and the ends of his cloak as he walked, weighing him down with every step. And it was probably toxic to breathe, as well. Leo couldn’t be sure, as he was only one of three living beings in the entire Underworld.

 _Think of the devils…_ The doors to the throne room burst open, and Odin and Niles returned to Leo’s sides. Odin was chattering—apparently in the midst of reciting some overly long name that he had given to one of his weapons. Niles met Leo’s gaze with a wry, lopsided smile.

Then, the retainer frowned. “Lord Leo, what’s the matter?”

Leo quickly straightened in his throne, adjusting his collar to make sure it was even. “What? Nothing is the matter. I’m just relieved that bastard Hans has finally gotten what he deserves.”

But that answer didn’t satisfy Niles. He peered at Leo’s face. “I agree with you wholeheartedly—he had it coming—but I don’t believe you.”

“What’s ailing you, Lord Leo?” Odin asked. “Is the darkness whispering odious things in your ear?”

“I hate it when you gang up on me,” Leo grumbled, even if he was secretly pleased that they were concerned enough to press the issue. He hesitated, staring absently at one of the throne room’s dark pillars to avoid meeting his retainers’ gazes. “I was just trying to remember how long we’ve been here now. I realized that I can no longer recall.”

“Neither can I,” said Niles. “Time is odd here.” He leaned against the arm of Leo’s throne and toyed with the strap of his quiver. “It’s tedious after so long, isn’t it? There are much nicer things to do in the dark than handing out divine judgment.”

“Odin Dark thrives in the darkness!” Odin crowed, his voice refracting back at them from the high walls. He paused, his voice shrinking down to a normal volume. “But… it does get boring after a while.”

“Indeed,” said Leo.

It would have been better if his siblings visited more frequently. But Xander was busy with his duties as the glorious lord of the skies and the new leader of the Nohrian gods. Camilla contacted him as often as she was able, via the magic mirror that Leo had set up years ago in his new chambers, linked to an identical one on Mount Krakenburg—but all the same, she hadn’t been down to visit the Underworld in ages, and although he’d never admit it, he missed her suffocating embrace. As for Elise and Corrin, they hadn’t visited Leo once since the war had ended. As the goddess of peace, Elise had devoted her time to traveling across the mortal lands, spreading harmony. And Corrin had come along with her, finally able to see and help the world after spending most of her life imprisoned in the Northern Fortress. She wrote letters to Leo sometimes, recounting her and Elise’s travels, but it wasn’t the same as seeing her face.

If he were honest with himself, he would have given almost anything to see her face.

As if latching onto Leo’s unspoken thoughts, Niles grinned at him. “You know what you need, Lord Leo? Companionship.”

Knowing Niles as well as he did, Leo frowned back. “I’m not sure I’m keen on your idea of ‘companionship.’”

The silver-haired retainer chuckled. “Believe it or not, that isn’t what I meant. Most likely, a one-night stand would only intensify your problem.”

“I don’t have a pr…” Leo started.

“What I meant,” Niles continued over his protests, “is that we could use some new meat around here. Live meat, I mean—we’re surrounded by dead meat. But someone new in the Underworld would be nice. I hold nothing against the two of you, but I also crave companionship.”

“Of which kind?” Odin muttered and nudged Niles in the ribs. He raised his voice. “But I agree with Niles. It would be nice to have another chosen guardian of the Underworld.”

Leo nodded, silent.

“If you’re really so lonely,” said Niles, quietly laying a hand on Leo’s shoulder, “you should let your family know about it.”

Blood warmed Leo’s cheeks. “I’m not lonely,” he said.

In truth, no matter how lonely he was, there was no way that he would admit such weakness to his siblings. After all, Xander had entrusted him with this task. In the wake of the devastation that the war had wrought on Nohr, he believed Leo to be capable of contending with the sudden, overwhelming influx of the dead. To confess to being lonely in the Underworld would be the same thing as telling Xander that he wasn’t up to the task, and Leo would rather sentence himself to the Fields of Punishment than do that—as if he wasn’t already there.

He wouldn’t pretend that he didn’t still resent his elder brother for practically forcing him into the role of the lord of the Underworld. While Xander was exalted as the god of the skies, the head of Mount Krakenburg and the ruler over all of the Nohrian pantheon, Leo was relegated to the darkness of the Underworld. His name was spoken in whispers in sickbeds, infirmaries, and soldiers’ barracks across the mortal realms. When people prayed to him, it was out of a noxious combination of loathing and fear.

 _They used to admire me and pray to me for wisdom._ Almost nobody did that anymore.

He sighed, unable to believe that he was agreeing with one of his retainers’ ideas. “You know, I do think that another person might be a welcome fixture here.”

Niles smiled, and Odin whooped, pumping a fist in the air. But Leo paused and took in the décor of the throne room again: the looming, dark walls, the ominous pillars, and of course, his ebony throne itself, with its imposingly high back and gnarled armrests. The ground below his feet was still streaked with Hans’s spit, and the stone floor bore the imprints of millions of feet, countless souls awaiting judgment.

“Of course,” he said quietly, “only a fool could be persuaded to sacrifice the sunlight and dwell in a place like this.”

And Leo? Leo was the greatest fool of all—condemned to be the eternal lord of a kingdom of darkness and death, when all he had ever desired before the war was to illuminate the world with his brilliance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first-ever fic on Ao3, so I hope I've done everything right.
> 
> I've had this idea flittering around in my head for a few months now. I can't remember where it came from, but I decided to write it for a few reasons. First of all, because Demeter's reaction to Persephone's abduction is such a Camilla thing to do, and goddess!Camilla is a terrifying and beautiful thought. Secondly, because I just really loved the idea and thought it could work pretty well in the hands of a competent writer. And since I couldn't find one of those, I decided to do it myself. ;)
> 
> A couple of silly parallels that I've observed: one of Persephone's other names in mythology is the Maiden, or Kore/Cora. Sounds a bit like Corrin. Homer also described the goddess as "Persephone [o]f the lovely feet"--and, well, as we all like to joke about, Corrin really likes walking about barefoot.
> 
> Anyway, I hope that you enjoy this fic. I hope that it makes you smile, though I'll settle for a few tears, too. If you like it, feel free to comment and let me know! But even if you don't, thanks so much for taking the time to read this. :)


	2. Flowing Like Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who read, commented, and gave me kudos on the first chapter! I was expecting maybe two people to read it... and one of those was me. I'm really grateful, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.
> 
> Here, we get into the backstory of this AU. A lot of it is similar to FE: Fates canon, but some things have been tweaked or changed. (What even _is_ the Fates timeline exactly? And why am I developing a habit of posting chapters at ungodly hours of the morning?)

When the world was young and unmarred by war, the gods of darkness and light got along well with one another. They cared for their lands, which dwelled side by side just as their gods did: Garon’s kingdom of Nohr and Sumeragi’s kingdom of Hoshido. The lands grew and prospered under the dominion of the two chief gods—darkness and day, midnight and noon, opposite yet complementary sides of the same divine coin. As their countries expanded, so did the Nohrian and Hoshidan pantheons. Both the god of darkness and the god of light took wives and, in Garon’s case, additional lovers, and through them, both gods bore many children.

One of these children was Lord Leo, son to the dark god Garon.

Leo’s mother was a mortal, a lesser noblewoman whose family had fallen into difficult times of late. Despite this, Lady Aurelia was renowned across Nohr for her beauty: her statuesque figure, luxurious blonde hair, and captivating golden eyes. Eventually, she even drew the attention of Garon himself as he sat on his gilded throne, looking down upon the world, and he spirited her up to Mount Krakenburg to become his lover.

Aurelia adored her new life atop the mountain of the gods, where everything was even more golden and beautiful than the luxuries she had enjoyed as a young child. However, she feared that her time on Mount Krakenburg might be limited. She heard whispered stories of some of Garon’s past lovers who returned to the earth below, or worse, women whom his other lovers tore to shreds while Garon’s attention was elsewhere.

She vowed that these fates would never befall her. She was already at a disadvantage as a mortal, because some of Garon’s other lovers were gods, and only a god could kill another god—but she was determined. Aurelia would sooner die than return to the destitution she’d left behind in Nohr. She would cement her place in Garon’s heart, and therefore solidify her position on Mount Krakenburg. And Aurelia knew precisely how to do it.

In late June of the next year, a child was born to Garon and Aurelia—a son with his mother’s sunlit hair and eyes as dark as his father’s domain. Despite his mother’s mortality, the child’s skin bore the unearthly glow of the gods, and as Leo grew from a baby into a boy, he displayed such an innate aptitude for learning that he became known throughout Nohr as the young god of wisdom.

The boy was certainly wise enough to realize that his mother’s heart held no real affection for him. When they were in public—parading down the gilded streets of Mount Krakenburg or feasting in the great hall of the gods—Lady Aurelia treated him nicely enough. But even then, when she smiled at him, her golden eyes held none of the sun’s warmth for her only son. And when they were alone, his mother ignored him entirely. His father did care for him, as he cared for all of his children, and the time that he did spend with his son was filled with conversation and smiles—but Garon’s focus was often occupied by his work, more and more with every passing year. Young Leo spent a great deal of his time in the library, devouring massive books and absorbing their knowledge. He began to learn strategy and history and science, but he also read fiction. He felt better acquainted with the characters than he did with his own parents.

It was during one of those days in the library when one of Garon’s messengers brought word to Leo that Lady Aurelia had been killed—stabbed through the heart by another of Garon’s mortal lovers.

“Oh,” Leo said. The word left his mouth in a soft rush of breath. He slowly marked his page in the novel he’d been reading and placed it down on the table in front of him. “Did she go quickly?”

He’d meant it as an expression of concern, of hope that his mother hadn’t suffered for long. But the messenger blinked at him as if the boy had sprouted wings and taken off into the air, whooping and cheering. As if he was heartless.

And Leo supposed that he was. He hardly felt anything about his mother’s murder, other than surprise. Other than the numb thought, _She imagined that having me would be enough to shield her from the dangers of the court. That was arrogant, wasn’t it?_

He didn’t cry. His tear ducts didn’t even prickle. Once the messenger left, he calmly sat down and tried to finish his book, while wondering why he didn’t feel more distraught, why his world didn’t quake and change the instant he learned of Aurelia’s death. 

* * *

The only thing that changed was that Leo no longer dwelled in the chambers in Garon’s palace that he used to share with his mother. Instead, he was moved to the same wing as the dark god’s other children, the ones whose mothers were absent for one reason or another. Some of these children were just as vile as some of Garon’s lovers, and Leo suspected that the only reason that they rarely made any overt attempts on his life was because his chambers were directly opposite Xander’s.

Xander was the oldest and the dark god’s only legitimate son, the child of Garon and his late first wife, Katerina. Xander, the heir to the skies, the future inheritor of Garon’s glistening golden throne above the world. Xander, gifted with the divine sword Siegfried and rendered nigh-untouchable to Garon’s toxic court.

Leo wanted to hate him. Leo wanted to _be_ him.

In the end, he could do neither. As he spent more time in Xander’s proximity, Leo realized that, in spite of his enviable position and his talents, his eldest half-brother wasn’t cruel. In fact, he could be surprisingly shy. Once, Leo witnessed Xander carrying an armful of books back to his chambers for his studies. He dropped a book and didn’t notice, and one of his passing sisters retrieved it for him. When she tapped his shoulder to get his attention, he whirled around and stared at her, like a rabbit trapped in a hunter’s snare.

“C-Camilla! I, er… Thank you.” Then, he’d scurried into his quarters. He was tall, but he didn't look like it just then.

Of course, it was only logical to be at least slightly frightened when Camilla was around. Garon’s oldest daughter was mothered by a lesser goddess, but there was nothing “lesser” about Camilla. Although Leo assumed she had once been a target of jealous attacks, given how talented and gorgeous she was even at her age, none of Garon’s lovers or the other children had the gall to try and harm her now. The last person who tried, shortly before Leo had moved into the wing, had been found lying on his back in the parlor with a gaping stab wound through his chest.

Leo tried to keep his distance from her when he could. He had never heard of Camilla striking out at anyone unprovoked—but at the same time, Leo was the god of wisdom, and his mind advised him to stay out of his half-sister’s way.

And he did, until one evening. Leo was heading back from the library with a stack of advanced books in his hands when he was hurled to the ground. His head struck the stone floor, and stars exploded in his vision. The corner of one of his books dug into his side, and he groaned as he forced his eyes open.

The culprit was Kassius, another son of Garon, only slightly older than Leo but significantly larger. He was mortal-mothered too, but he hadn’t been declared the god or anything, as far as Leo knew. Even if he should have been declared the god of mindless brutishness, or maybe bad breath. “Where are you going with all of those books?”

“Where are you going with all of that illiteracy?” Leo said from the ground. It wasn’t his finest retort, and his voice stumbled a bit, but he _had_ just hit his head. It was still throbbing with every beat of his heart.

“You think you’re so clever.” Kassius loomed over him, sneering, and Leo realized with a jolt of cold that there was a blade clutched in his fist. “What’s the matter? Do you have nothing to say now? Pretty _wise_ of you.”

The knife glinted in the dim light of the corridor. Leo hardly had time to roll to the side before Kassius plunged the blade downward, toward the place where Leo’s throat had been, half a heartbeat before. Kassius lunged at him, crushing him to the floor with his weight as Leo tried to scramble away. The breath fled from his lungs. His assailant was raising his knife again, and Leo wanted to scream for help, but his voice wouldn’t cooperate. He couldn’t produce anything above a croak.

Screaming probably wouldn’t have helped, anyway. Just last month, Leo had been shut in his chambers with a book when he’d heard the sounds of a scuffle out in the hall. A boy’s shrill screaming— _“Help! Help!”_ —as another voice ordered him to stay still.

Leo had remained where he sat. Because Leo knew what he was: wise and weak. The first quality ordered him to ignore the scuffle outside because of the second quality—because Leo, whose muscles were rarely exposed to more exercise than was required to haul books to the library and back, wouldn’t be able to provide any help, and he’d only get himself hurt. (That, and he was probably heartless. He was definitely heartless, he’d thought, cringing as he heard his half-brother’s cries dwindle into gasps, dwindle into nothing, while Leo cowered behind his door.)

And now, Leo was going to get himself killed. Kassius’s blade plunged toward him again and again, and he only managed to evade it by sheer luck. His pulse pounded in his ears, and his breaths came quickly and shallowly, and his throat was clogged by screams that refused to come out. The blade pierced his shoulder, and pain blasted through him, half-blinding him. He saw more stars—galaxies, even.

_No, nonono, please, no._

Still wearing that awful sneer, Kassius pinned Leo to the floor by his neck, hard enough to make more gray spots swim before his eyes. With the other hand, Kassius raised his knife. It gleamed again, and so did his smile, and as the blade started to come down, Leo imagined those gleams might be the last things he’d ever see—

But the knife didn’t come. One moment, Kassius was on top of Leo with his blade and his bared teeth, and the next moment, he was flying into the opposite wall, hitting it with a resounding _thunk._

A blur of purple and black followed after him, moving too fast for Leo’s dazed, throbbing head to identify. He struggled into a sitting position and strained to comprehend the scene in front of him. The blur was attacking Kassius, pinning him against the wall, jabbing his own knife into him until Leo’s attacker slumped to the floor like a limp blanket.

His rescuer turned around, her chest heaving and her fingers still gnarled into fists, and Leo squinted to make out her face in the dark. It was Camilla. She scooped him off the floor, mindful of his bleeding shoulder, and pulled his face against the soft crook of her neck. “It’s all right, darling. It’s all right.”

It was only then that Leo realized he was crying. As Camilla held him, tears bled out of his eyes and seeped into her shoulder. She stroked soothing circles between his shoulderblades as his body quaked with sniffles and sobs. Later, shame would flood Leo as he remembered how pitifully he’d acted. But for now, he was so overcome with shock and horror and relief that he cried and cried into Camilla’s shoulder and thought of nothing except, _This. This is what a mother should be like._

A bond snapped into place just then. They were near-strangers still, but this moment tethered the two together. Leo, who had never truly known a loving mother, but who recognized one’s traits instantly in Camilla. And Camilla, who seemed to instinctively know what a mother ought to be, even though her own mother had been nothing of the sort. Even though Leo later learned—long after Camilla’s mother passed on, due to mysterious circumstances that Leo had never inquired into— that his sister, at an appallingly young age, had become an expert on blending makeup against skin to hide fingerprint bruises as black as Nohrian night.

Xander was the first to come across them in the darkened hallway. He stared at Camilla and Leo, then down at the body. “What happened?”

“He was trying to kill Leo,” Camilla said, still rubbing Leo’s shoulders as he tried to dam the flow of his tears in front of Xander. Leo felt her fingers tense. “I won’t let people get away with doing things like this anymore, Xander. I won’t.” She spoke Xander’s name with familiarity. Apparently, Leo’s eldest siblings had grown closer while he wasn’t paying attention.

Xander stepped closer and placed one hand on Camilla’s shoulder and the other on Leo’s. His touch was gentle, and his hands were warm. “And we shouldn’t. All of this violence shouldn’t be acceptable. We’re gods—we should be better than this. How can we expect mortals to treat each other well if we fight like this within our own family?”

“Exactly.” Camilla glanced down at the floor, as if noticing the books strewn across the stones for the first time. “Oh, Leo, are these yours? Let’s get these off the floor….”

They walked Leo safely to his chambers again, and Camilla stayed with him and hummed softly until he fell asleep. After that, Xander and Camilla spent a lot more time around him. Leo still spent a lot of time in his room with his books, but he went on walks and talked with his two older siblings, too. They protected him. And they helped him train for combat so he could protect himself. The three of them became a unit—Xander-and-Camilla-and-Leo—until Leo could no longer remember a time before they were his family.

The children of the court dwindled down, falling down flights of stairs and falling ill from poison and falling to the blades of shadows in dark corridors… until only four children were left—the three of them, and Garon’s youngest child, Elise.

Elise was small and had large violet eyes, and the first time Leo held her, she cried, and he panicked and thrust her into Camilla’s waiting arms. But the second time Leo held her—cautiously, warily, because Elise was so tiny, so light, and he’d seen children her size lying broken on the ground like discarded dolls—she stared up at him and broke into a toothless grin. And something inside him melted like ice in the sunlight. Leo decided he would keep training with Xander and Camilla, so someday, if he had to, he could protect Elise like his older siblings had protected him.

_It will always be the four of us,_ he told himself. _Forever._

But soon, they became five, after Garon took a new wife: Arete, the goddess of music, who had a young daughter named Azura. Azura was shy—shyer than Xander had been as a young child—and she kept to herself, so Leo rarely spoke to her. But she had never once disturbed him while he was reading, so he didn’t dislike his stepsister. Especially since there was an obvious benefit to his father’s marriage to Arete: Garon never took any more lovers. The ones that remained were still vile, but slowly, they picked each other off—and at last, it appeared that the darkest period of Mount Krakenburg was over. 

* * *

However, as the land of Hoshido grew more prosperous while Nohr did not, Garon became envious. His envy turned into a hatred that consumed him, until he was nothing more than an empty shell of a god, his soul overcome by silence.

When Sumeragi came to Mount Krakenburg on a friendly visit, intending to introduce the Nohrian gods to his new stepdaughter Kamui, Garon slayed the god of light and took the child for his own. He stole her away into the Underworld and forced the terrified young goddess to drink from the river Lethe, taking away her memories. He renamed the child Corrin, a more Nohrian name, and imprisoned her in the Northern Fortress.

As retribution, the gods of Hoshido kidnapped Garon’s stepdaughter Azura. If they were hoping for a hostage exchange, Garon was uninterested. He pretended to know nothing about Kamui’s disappearance, and eventually, the Hoshidans stopped attempting to trade Azura back for their stolen goddess.

From the beginning, Leo was suspicious about Garon’s claim that Corrin was truly their sister, but he never voiced these ideas out loud. Elise was elated at the revelation that she had a new big sister, and Xander and Camilla would disapprove of Leo puncturing a hole in her joy.

Their new sister was older than Leo and a few inches taller, to his chagrin. She had long, wavy hair that shone silver in the morning light outside the Northern Fortress, ears that tapered to sharp points at the tips, and very large eyes that widened as she looked at each of the siblings in turn. As her gaze flickered onto Leo, a jolt of shock coursed down his spine. Her eyes were red—not hazel, not amber, but bright _red_ , with flecks of sunset-pink.

Xander knelt down so he would be closer to her eye level. “Hello, Corrin. I’m Xander. I’m your older brother.”

Corrin just stared at him, her hands clasped and fidgeting behind her back. Leo realized that she thought Xander was frightening—Xander, who hated unjustified violence and used to speak with a stutter in front of crowds. Even when Leo hadn’t known Xander yet, even when he’d envied him, he’d never found him _scary_.

A bit of the brightness faded from Xander’s eyes, but he kept smiling. Elise trotted up beside him. She didn’t have to kneel—instead, she bounced up and down on her tiptoes, beaming at her new sister. “Hi! My name’s Elise. It’s nice to meet you, Big Sister!”

Camilla joined them, also introducing herself to Corrin with an earnest smile. But Leo hung back. _Can’t they see that she’s already overwhelmed?_ The girl looked pallid, like she was going to be sick, like she’d never been surrounded by so many people in her life—which was odd, considering that she was a goddess. But since she was clearly uncomfortable, Leo didn’t approach her.

That, and his stomach was churning, like he’d eaten something rotten. Watching his older siblings trying to bond with their new sister only made the sensation worse. If it was anyone else, Leo might have assumed that they were jealous. But what would Leo have to be jealous of? He was the god of wisdom, and people admired him. He didn’t even know _what_ this girl was the goddess of—or if she even knew how to talk.

_Maybe she’s the goddess of silence,_ Leo figured. _Or the goddess of “leave me alone.”_

Despite his siblings’ best efforts, Corrin didn’t speak a single word to them for the entirety of the visit. 

* * *

The first time she did talk, Leo wasn’t even there. But Xander and Camilla returned to Mount Krakenburg sparkling with excitement. “She spoke!” Camilla burst out, the second she darted into sight. “Corrin spoke to us!”

Leo crossed his arms. “What did she say—‘antidisestablishmentarianism?’” Otherwise, he wasn’t impressed.

“She said ‘hello,’” said Xander, smiling so widely that Leo was concerned for the structural integrity of his cheek muscles. “And she asked where Elise was.”

Leo’s stomach was churning again. He must have eaten some bad ambrosia for breakfast. “That’s nice,” he said weakly, but it wasn’t. It really wasn’t.

He refused to go along with his siblings to the Northern Fortress during their next several visits, claiming that he had important duties to attend to. Even when Xander and Elise told them about wandering the grounds of the fortress with Corrin while flurries were falling from the sky, and how they’d had an exhilarating snowball fight, Leo wasn’t swayed. He’d begun studying magic more seriously of late (because Xander preferred the sword, and because Leo relished the feeling of power sparking from his fingertips), and it was already proving useful—as an excuse to avoid Corrin.

But he couldn’t avoid her forever. Eventually, Camilla, Xander, and Elise managed to lure him along with them. When they reached the Northern Fortress, Corrin was waiting for them just inside. A tiny smile crept across her face as she saw them.  
“Hello,” she said slowly, putting too much emphasis on each staccato syllable. She had the faintest trace of an accent, one that Leo couldn’t place. “It’s nice to see you again. I hope you had a safe trip.”

Xander’s face broke into a grin. “Corrin! That was excellent, little goddess.”

“I’m so proud of you!” Camilla exclaimed, and Elise cheered, “Yay, Corrin! That was great!”

Leo scowled. _They’re lavishing far too much praise on her. All she did was utter a simple greeting. Does that really deserve so much attention?_ Leo wanted to hate her. Leo _did_ hate her, he decided.

After more enthusiastic greetings volleyed between Corrin and the rest of their siblings, the little pale-haired goddess tentatively stepped over to Leo. Her hands were clasped behind her back again, and she chewed lightly on her lower lip, until it was as red as a tomato—as red as her large eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she said in a soft voice. “I… I-I forgot your name.”

Ugh, Leo was going to have a very stern talk with whomever had prepared his morning meal. Now, his stomach felt like it was sinking. That couldn’t be healthy.

“It’s Leo,” he grumbled.

“Leo,” Corrin repeated slowly. “And… you’re my little brother?”

He glanced over at Xander and Camilla, at Elise, and nodded. _So they claim._

“Leo,” she said again, drawing out the syllables. “I’m Corrin.”

“I know.”

Her gaze lowered to her feet. They were bare, even though the stone floor had to be cold. “I’m really sorry…. I promise not to forget again.”

Leo huffed. “Make sure you don’t.”

As they retreated into the great hall for lunch, Camilla took Leo by the crook of the arm, not especially gently. “Leo, that was rude,” she hissed. “Corrin’s having a hard time. Don’t be mean to her.”

“I’m her _brother_ ,” he whispered back, a furrow between his brows. “And she forgot my _name_.”

“It was an honest mistake,” said Camilla. Her eyes narrowed, framed by her long, dark lashes. (Leo had recently started noticing just how pretty Camilla was, just how many blessings maturity had bestowed on his older half-sister, but he wasn’t sure what to make of it yet.) “Maybe if you’d visit her more often, she’d know you better by now.”

This silenced Leo—but it didn’t make him want to visit any more. As they ate lunch together, Leo’s siblings chattered enthusiastically, while Corrin nodded along and smiled. She had a nice smile. That didn’t mean that Leo didn’t hate her, though.

He excused himself the moment he finished his meal. He wasn’t certain exactly where he was going, so he wandered aimlessly through the halls of the Northern Fortress. The fortress was bleak, and it was the size and quality of a cottage compared to the sheer extravagance of the palace on Mount Krakenburg. Leo wondered why Corrin was forced to live here, instead of on the mountain of the gods like the rest of his family. Did his father dislike her? Did Corrin harbor some dark, awful secret that caused Garon to relegate her to the Northern Fortress? Was she the goddess of serial murder or something?

He found his way to the fortress’s library. It was much more cramped and limited than Leo’s, but as he perused the nearest shelf, he spotted several interesting-looking books that he hadn’t read yet. He slipped one off the shelf and sat down in a tiny chair in the corner to read.

He was only on the second chapter when he heard the library door creak open. He saw silvery-white hair in his peripheral vision and kept reading. Luckily, Corrin had the good sense to stay silent until he reached the end of the chapter and looked up. “Do you need something?”

“I… B-big Sister said once that you like books, so I thought you might come here.” Corrin shuffled her feet against the floor. “What are you reading?”

Leo shifted the book in his lap so she could see the cover.

Her eyes lit up like the sky at dawn. “Oh! I love that one. Do you like it so far?”

“The imagery is good,” he said.

Corrin tilted her head, bewildered.

“How the writer describes things,” Leo explained.

She nodded eagerly. “It is! My favorite character is Lonnell. Do you have a favorite yet?” The words flowed out of her now—not like the stiff sentences she’d spoken to him before.

“I’m not sure,” said Leo. “I guess Imogen is interesting.”

“She is,” said Corrin. “I like her, too.”

“Have you read any of this writer’s other books?” Leo asked. “I think I have a few. They’re not bad.”

She shook her head, her hair swishing around her shoulders. “I… I still have some trouble reading big books sometimes. Gunter has to help me with some of the words.”

Leo’s first instinct was to judge her, but she looked so sheepish that he softened. “That’s okay,” he said. “You’ll get better the more you practice.”

Corrin nodded and smiled. “Thank you, Leo.” He realized what made her smile so nice—it was bright and warm, like springtime after a bitter Nohrian winter. It was so genuine, unrestrained. And even if she had forgotten his name at first, she remembered it now. She kept calling him by it, as if to ensure that she wouldn’t forget again. His name sounded… nice somehow, coming out of her mouth. Like it was laced with affection, even though she hardly knew him yet.

And even though Leo tried to resist it, he softened toward Corrin. He supposed he would suspend his hatred of his new sister, for now. 

* * *

Corrin grew up in the highest tower of the Northern Fortress in near-isolation, although her alleged siblings visited her as frequently as their duties allowed. As the years flitted past and Corrin grew out of her gangly childishness, rumors began to spread across Nohr about the beautiful, lonely goddess of love locked up in her tower.

These rumors irritated Leo. _“The beautiful, lonely goddess of love?” Hmph._ It wasn’t that Corrin wasn’t pretty, even though he’d seen her pass through quite the awkward phase a couple of years ago. And it wasn’t that she wasn’t lonely, because even though her siblings tried to visit often, their schedules were busy. But still—the mortals made it sound like Corrin was some one-dimensional damsel. Corrin was many things, not all of them good, but boring she was not. Leo was annoyed, and he made his annoyance known.

“But it sounds like something out of a fairytale,” Elise chirped in reply.

Camilla shrugged her shoulders. “Mortals like to romanticize things. It fills up their time.”

“Why can’t they romanticize their own business instead of ours?” said Leo. “Who says Corrin is the ‘goddess of love,’ anyway? She’s never even _been_ in love.” The idea of their middle sister falling in love was unimaginable. Trying to imagine it rankled him nearly as much as the mortals’ rumors. Many things rankled him lately, as their father had been growing more and more distant—even things that shouldn’t irritate Leo, like his sister’s romantic life.

“Who says it has to be romantic love?” Camilla asked. “There are many kinds of love. And you have to admit, our Corrin is very lovable.”

Leo’s gaze shifted to his hands. He didn’t want to meet Camilla’s eyes just then, and he wasn’t sure why, because his youthful crush on her had faded away by now—or been forcibly chased away, more accurately. But the words coming out of his mouth embarrassed him more than they should have.

“Being around her can be… soothing. I guess.”

Camilla smirked as if she knew something that he didn’t. “True, true.”

* * *

And there was a lot of soothing needed in the world, as war soon ravaged the lands. Corrin was finally permitted to leave the Northern Fortress, but Garon deceived her into journeying to Hoshido under the guise of peace—arming her with the sword Ganglari, which was cursed to explode. Even though Corrin was from Nohr, she was welcomed warmly by Mikoto, the goddess of prophecy and ruler over Hoshido.

Mikoto’s welcome was… uncannily warm, really. Almost familiar. But Corrin had little time to dwell on that. Soon after her arrival, Mikoto escorted her to the town square at the base of Mount Shirasagi, in order to formally welcome her as a friend to Hoshido in front of a crowd of mortals. And it was then that Ganglari exploded, and the world along with it.

The detonation killed numerous Hoshidan mortals, as well as Mikoto, who died shielding Corrin from the blast. As the light faded from her eyes, Mikoto looked up into her face and choked out, “I’m… so glad you’re safe… my daughter.”

The words came like a jolt to Corrin, as she tried to hold Mikoto up and the woman’s blood stained her hands and crusted beneath her fingernails. _Daughter? But… how could this be?_ She never had time to ask, though. Mikoto’s final breath left her battered body before Corrin could open her mouth.

In the brutal war that followed, countless mortals were killed, both in Nohr and Hoshido. Godly blood was shed, as well. Corrin saw comrades die right before her eyes, her armor spattered with their blood. It bathed her feet as she marched, and as she assumed a fighting stance, preparing herself to swing her sword the way Xander had taught her. Her armor was slick with blood, long after she cleaned it. Her feet were slick with blood, ages after she washed them. Corrin’s cheeks were pale and slick with blood and tears, as she stumbled out of her tower and into the midst of a brutal war that would never end.

If not for her family, she would have died a hundred times on a hundred different fields of battle. But just in time, Xander darted in with Siegfried, deflecting the blows that she was still too weak to block. Camilla swept her up onto the back of Marzia, her wyvern, to save her from an ambush on the ground. When Corrin was hurt, Elise rushed in to heal her. And Leo fine-tuned her attempts at strategy and hurled enemies back with Brynhildr’s magic before they could reach her.

And Corrin defended them, too—deflecting swords and arrows, alerting them of ambushes waiting to happen, taking blows meant for one of her siblings, heedless to her own safety. Because Corrin’s only wish was that all of her beloved siblings would make it through the war.

And they did. Blackened and bloodied, shattered and scorched, broken but _together_ , the young gods of Nohr survived those bitter years of battle.

Their father did not. His growing bloodlust alienated most of his allies, and in the end, even his right-hand man deserted him—although, given that Iago was the god of treachery, this shouldn’t have surprised anyone. In order to make the dark god atone for the deaths of Sumeragi and Mikoto, the gods of Hoshido—led by Sumeragi’s eldest son Ryoma—slayed Garon, and thus, they put an end to the war.

The lands were ravaged, the people scarred and the crops decimated. Tensions were still high, lingering in the air like a noxious fog, but for the sake of their countries, the second-generation gods of Hoshido and Nohr led their lands into an uneasy peace.

In the wake of Garon’s death, the Nohrian siblings were forced to divide up his duties among them. Iago volunteered to shoulder some of the burden, to even become the regent of Krakenburg in Garon’s stead while his children coped with his loss, but they declined his “generous offer.” Instead, as Garon’s heir, Xander became the lord of the skies, overseeing his country from the peak of Mount Krakenburg. Camilla supervised the land and the changing of the seasons. Leo was left with the Underworld, to contend with all of the souls who had been lost during the war, friend and foe alike.

Corrin had always wondered if he had been forced to pass judgment on their father—and if so, what decision he’d made—but she had always been too afraid to ask.

After the war, Corrin had nightmares. Drifting in waves upon waves of her friends’ and family’s blood, feeling it seep into her throat until it filled her lungs and drowned her and she woke up screaming the names of the living and the dead. Even when she was awake, she had difficulty staying still for too long. Panic clawed its way up into her throat when she had too much time to think. Elise saw her suffering and invited her along on her mission to sow the seeds of peace throughout the mortal world. Eager to see more of the world than its battlefields, and even more eager to atone for the blood she’d spilled, Corrin agreed.

Years had passed, and Corrin hadn’t returned with Elise to Mount Krakenburg, though her sister’s pleas were slowly wearing her down. Corrin wrote letters to her other three siblings, but she hadn’t yet dared to set foot on the mountain of the gods. By this point, she was afraid to. Such an unfamiliar place, one that should have been her home since she could remember…

And truthfully, after the raw violence and suffering she had seen on the ground, she wasn’t sure she wanted to dwell in some ethereal, gilded home in the sky. She had healed after the war, externally and internally, but even so, Corrin wasn’t certain that she _deserved_ to dwell in a lovely place like Mount Krakenburg. She would only track invisible blood all over Krakenburg’s golden streets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obviously, even though a lot of the backstory is similar, there's one big difference: here, Corrin wasn't taken to Hoshido, but sent there by Garon on a "peace mission." And since she has a different name, the Hoshidan royal/godly family didn't instantly recognize her (well... maybe Mikoto did). Corrin also didn't learn that Mikoto was her mother until her death, and because of that, she wasn't really able to process it in the same way she could in Fates canon.
> 
> As you can see, I've incorporated some of my personal headcanons into this chapter. For example, Corrin's Hoshidan name being Kamui. There's no canon basis for this at _all_ , of course, but I've gotten really attached to the idea somehow. It'll probably show up in anything I write.
> 
> Leo's reaction to his mother's death is another headcanon of mine. I can remember when I was a kid and I found out my great-grandmother died, and I remember feeling nothing at all and being convinced for years that I must be heartless for that reaction. Really, it was probably emotional shock, but a little kiddo isn't gonna know that. (Occasionally, I project a bit. Same with Corrin's anxiety. Take a drink every time she apologizes in this fic. Actually, don't... You'll die.)
> 
> I also have the headcanon that either Corrin or Leo gave the other their headband at some point when they were little, but I can never decide which one, and I didn't add any such scene in this chapter because I didn't want to bog it down any more than it already is.
> 
> Anyway, next chapter, we'll return to the Underworld (hooray...?), where the lord of death and his awesome retainers get a visitor. ...No, not that one. :P


	3. The Thorn in Your Heart

“To what do I owe this unexpected visit, Xander?”

Xander frowned at the stiffness of Leo’s greeting as he glanced to his brother’s side. “Someone wrote me and said that you were lonely. In… quite flowery terms.”

Leo scowled at Odin, who leaned against the arm of Leo’s throne with a satisfied grin. “Sorry, milord.”

“No, you aren’t. And I am not lonely,” Leo said. On his other side, Niles raised his eyebrows.

“Well, if you aren’t,” said Xander, “he can be forgiven for expecting you to be. You have worked diligently here for so long now.” He glanced around at the lofty black walls of the Underworld’s throne room, as if seeing them for the first time—as if he’d come here to face judgment. Leo pushed away the thought. “Has it always been so dismal here?”

“Yes,” Leo said. _You might know that if you had visited more often._

Xander’s forehead wrinkled with sympathy, as if he’d picked up on his thoughts. “Leo… I’m sorry. You know that I’ve been busy with my duties.”

“Of course. You can hardly be blamed for that.”

“And yet…” Xander hesitated, his gaze still sweeping around the dark throne room. “I fear that, in the process, I’ve been neglecting my duties as a brother.”

Leo perched on his elevated black throne, where for once, he towered over Xander. His shoulders were stiff, and he was suddenly conscious of his heartbeat. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say to a confession like that.

“Did you know that Hans recently came through here? That miserable fool finally died.”

Xander blinked, as if surprised by the sudden change in the tide of their conversation. “Did you send him to the Fields of Punishment, brother?”

“Of course,” said Leo. “Do you disagree with that sentence?”

“Certainly not. If anything, it’s better than he deserves.”

“It’s the worst possible sentence.”

“I stand by what I said,” Xander said. A low rumble echoed through the throne room. Niles snickered, and Xander flushed. “Are any of you hungry?”

“The chosen scions of fate, sharing a wondrous meal together?” Odin said. “So excited!”

“Did you pack lunch, Xander?” Leo interjected. “You know you can’t eat anything from our garden. Unless, of course, you’d prefer to stay here forever instead of returning to Mount Krakenburg.”

Xander took another glance around the throne room and grimaced. “Don’t worry, I brought a basket of lunch with me. I left it in the hall.”

* * *

After their meal, Niles and Odin left the brothers alone in the great hall to talk. Xander kept looking around at the décor—dark and drab, despite Leo and his retainers’ efforts to spruce it up at least a little. Leo could see the regret in his older brother’s eyes, for essentially sentencing him to spend the rest of his immortal life in this place. Worse yet, Xander’s regret didn’t even make Leo feel better. One person’s misery didn’t divide by half just because someone else was feeling it, too.

“If you were ever lonely here, I could hardly blame you, Leo,” said Xander. “It’s been only the three of you here for so long.”

For once, Leo sat at the head of the table, while Xander sat at his right hand. After all, the Underworld was Leo’s domain—dreadful and terrible, dark and cataclysmic, but impressive. In his hands, Leo wielded the power to reward or condemn every soul that crossed through his throne room. Now that Garon had passed on, he was the new dark god. And if mortals feared and despised him, at least they knew his name.

At least, that was what he reminded himself when the weight became too much to bear.

“New company passes through here every day,” Leo said lightly. “A thousand new souls that I’ve never met before. And believe me, some of them have led very interesting lives. Why, just last week, I came across a man who died attempting to leap over a pit of magically enlarged and exceptionally hungry sharks.”

Xander raised his eyebrows. “That’s… something. Asphodel?”

“No, Elysium.” Leo smiled sheepishly. “Odin argued that it was a sufficiently heroic deed and tricked me into agreeing.”

Xander laughed. But slowly, the levity faded from his features. “But Leo, I’m being serious. If you’re struggling, I want you to let me know.”

Leo’s smile vanished. “What, you don’t believe that I’m competent enough to be the lord of the Underworld any longer?”

“That’s not it….”

“It isn’t?” His voice was ice-sharp, chilling the flat air in the great hall. “You keep looking around at my domain like you can hardly stand to be here. Do you think I’m failing at my job? The shark-leaper was an exception, not the rule, I assure you—”

“Leo. At ease.” Xander raised a hand, only lowering it to the table once Leo’s protests quietened. “I’m afraid you’ve misunderstood me completely. Out of all the gods, you are the only one whom I trusted to be able to handle this position.”

Leo’s stomach flipped—even though he knew the tomatoes he’d grown in his own garden couldn’t be making him ill. His heart swelled with warmth and pride until it logically should have burst.

“It’s a difficult duty,” Xander continued, “and sometimes an unfortunate one, but I knew that you could handle it, brother. And you haven’t proven me wrong. In fact, when you saw me looking around at your domain, I was reflecting on precisely how taxing it would be, for me to live here as you do. If I was in your place—”

“But you aren’t!” The words came out too loudly, startling even Leo himself, but it was too late to haul them back into his mouth. He pressed onward, because now, he had no choice. “You’re the great Xander, standing at the helm of Krakenburg: loved by all the people of Nohr, gods and mortals alike. You live above the clouds where you belong—where everyone can see you. Even if I wasn’t stuck belowground, I would _still_ be in the shadows, standing beside someone like you.”

Silence rang through the great hall, as the last echoes of Leo’s words faded away into nothing. Xander’s face was slack, his eyes riveted on his younger brother’s face. Leo might have been seated at the head of the table, but he felt himself shrink back into a child again under Xander’s gaze.

“Leo…” he began.

Leo shook his head, gazing down at the smooth wood of his table. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair to you. Please, forget that I said anything.”

“I won’t do that.”

He looked up, hesitantly meeting Xander’s eyes. “Brother?”

“I’m grateful that you said that. I had no idea that you felt that way, all this time. But I meant what I said. I’m not sure that I would be able to handle this task as capably as you have. Your sisters wouldn’t be able to, either, and…” Xander faltered. “Clearly, I haven’t expressed this well enough in the past. But I’m so grateful—so _proud_ —that you have taken such a difficult role and consistently, year after year, done what no one else could.”

“Xander.” Leo’s voice cracked. “If you really mean that… thank you.”

“I do mean it.”

Silence. Emotion prickled in Leo’s eyes, and he struggled not to let it show. He wasn’t sure that he succeeded.

“I promise,” said Xander, “I’ll do my best to carve out more time to visit you.”

Leo’s shoulders relaxed. “You know that time flows differently here. What seems a short time to you may seem an eternity down here.”

“Then I shall _definitely_ make more of an effort to visit.” He paused, drumming his fingers absently on the table. “Have you heard from our sisters lately?”

“I talked to Camilla through the mirror not too long ago,” said Leo, “and just a few days ago, I got another letter from Corrin. She told me that she’s going to take a break from traveling with Elise in order to visit you and Camilla for the summer. I had forgotten that she’s never visited the palace on Mount Krakenburg before. Considering all the places she’s traveled—Nestra, Izumo, Mokushu—it’s easy to forget that she hasn’t been to the place where the rest of us grew up. And did you hear that she and Elise played a part in restoring the country of Kohga?” A telling warmth crept into his words, into the curve of his smile. “It’s strange: when I first heard that Corrin was going to travel with Elise, I expected she was doing it because she wanted to see the world, but I should have known better. Of course she wanted to do better than that. I shouldn’t have expected anything less from her than that she’d go on to brighten the world.”

Leo trailed off as he noticed the expression on Xander’s face. As if Leo had accidentally revealed something that he’d long tried to conceal. _Damn it._

“Leo…” Xander cleared his throat. “About Corrin.”

* * *

Leo’s revelation had been a quiet one. No fanfare, no angelic choirs or heavenly sunlight. His realization of his feelings came to him amongst a hail of arrows and magic blasts. Corrin whirled toward him as death rained all around them. Her hair swirled around her shoulders, her tresses streaked with soot so they resembled gray waves. And her eyes looked molten in the light of a storm of fire blasts.

“Leo!” she screamed as he stumbled, clutching his wounded arm. She was covered in bruises herself, her lip split and bleeding, but her eyes only held concern for him. “Are you okay?”

And there it was. In the center of the chaos, the dying cries of comrades and the scraping metals sounds of swords, the sharp _thwack_ of bowstrings and the screaming pain in his injured arm—a soft, simple voice inside Leo’s head, whispering warmth into his weary bloodstream. _I love her._

“I’m fine,” he said. “I…” His blood flashed cold. “Look out!”

He seized Corrin’s arm and yanked her toward him, pulling her out of the path of a wicked blast of dark magic. She gasped as her body collided with Leo’s, nearly bowling him off his feet. He recovered in time to flip open Brynhildr and direct a more powerful burst of magic at the enemy dark mage. Branches pierced the mage through the neck and stomach, killing him almost instantly. The sight was gruesome—blood and entrails staining the magical leaves—and Leo instinctively shielded Corrin’s face against his neck so she wouldn’t have to watch.

He hadn’t noticed until that moment that he’d grown taller than her. Her face fit snugly into the crook of his neck, and Leo could hear her rapid breathing, even if he couldn’t feel it through his metal armor. They were bruised and they were breaking, and the world wailed all around them, but for a moment, everything went quiet and still. The future was uncertain, the end of this _battle_ was uncertain, but of this one thing, Leo was sure. And he let this certainty illuminate the path to victory.

The crippling shame only came afterward, once the skirmish had ended and Leo was left alone in the quiet with his thoughts until he was lost, drowning, inside them. Somehow, it was worse than when he’d realized his crush on Camilla as a boy, even though the thought hammering through his skull— _Leo, she’s your sister. Your sister!_ —was the same. Even though he’d never believed that Corrin was his flesh and blood. It was still worse somehow.

Maybe because he wasn’t a child anymore, so he couldn’t blame these unexpected feelings on his youth. Maybe because, even though Corrin was older than Leo, he’d always viewed her in the same way that Xander and Camilla did: as something worth protecting. Not because she was weak—because Corrin was many things, naïve and impulsive and sometimes childish, but no, never weak—but because there was a purity about her that Leo and their older siblings had lost. Something that they would defend with their lives. And here was Leo’s traitor heart, threatening that.

Or maybe because this time, he didn’t catch his budding feelings soon after they sprouted. By the time Leo became aware of them, they had already blossomed into something too large for him to contain. Too overwhelming to prune back.

Something that felt terrifyingly close to the way people described love.

* * *

That same shame assailed him now, as he was cornered into admitting his feelings to Xander.

“…But it’s nothing to be concerned about,” he finished quickly, before Xander had a chance to speak. “After all, it’s not like I’m in any desperate rush to pursue her. I’ve never intended to. And even if I wanted to, it’s not as if I get any vacation days to spend frolicking aboveground with Corrin. I haven’t even seen her since shortly after the war.”

“Actually, I was going to say—while she’s visiting me and Camilla, I should remind Corrin to pay you a visit.”

“What?” said Leo. _But… I just told you that I have feelings for her._ He replayed his brother’s words in his mind, sure that he’d misheard or misinterpreted his sentiment. “Need I remind you that she’s our sister?”

“After all this time,” Xander said, “do you honestly believe that?”

Leo paused, then shook his head. “I’m not sure I ever did. Xander, do you know where she came from?”

“No, I never asked.” Xander stopped, his gaze flickering back toward the doors. “But… couldn’t you technically ask Fa—”

“No,” Leo said. In truth, it was possible. It just wasn’t a task that Leo felt strong enough to accomplish—facing him again, even in the pursuit of knowledge. He still ached from the last time he’d seen Garon years ago: as his father had stood rigidly before Leo’s new throne, listening to the litany of his deeds, his pale fingers clenching as he waited for damnation.

Xander sighed, but it almost sounded like relief. “All right. But Leo—as I was saying, Corrin isn’t our sister by blood. And you’re a good man. So if you ever did wish to marry her, you would have my blessing.”

“Marry her?” If Leo’s mouth hadn’t been so bone-dry, he would have spluttered. “Who said anything about marriage?”

“It isn’t good for you to be alone here. Well, alone with only your retainers for company,” said Xander. His gaze was level, serious. “And these feelings of yours aren’t a sudden, recent thing, are they?”

“Of course not,” Leo said. Even after Xander’s acceptance, he was still ashamed of his feelings—but he refused to trivialize them or insinuate that his affection for Corrin, brotherly or otherwise, was just a fleeting thing.

“I didn’t think so.” Xander rose from the table. “In that case, I’ll talk to Corrin when she arrives.”

Leo swallowed, his throat feeling tight. He adjusted his collar, but it didn’t alleviate the pressure. Was this actually happening? He wasn’t sure. He felt suddenly distant from the rest of the great hall. “But… she would never want to live in a place like this. She…” How could he put words to this? How could he explain that Corrin radiated love, radiated _light_ , and she didn’t belong shut up inside the dark?

“She can make her own decisions, don’t you think?” said Xander.

“Of course she can. I just don’t believe she could ever love a life here.” _It would be just like imprisoning her in the Northern Fortress all over again._

“Corrin loves a great many things that people might imagine she couldn’t,” said Xander. “After all, that’s why the people began calling her the goddess of love.”

It was then that Leo realized precisely how cliché it was—the man relegated to the dark of the Underworld, falling for the luminous goddess of love. Oh, the mortals would have a field day with this.

And they did. In years to come, mortals would write novels and sonnets about this chapter in the story of the gods—how the god of the skies and his embittered brother, the lord of the Underworld, made arrangements for the date and place when the latter’s chariot would arrive to fetch the maiden.

How the fair young goddess was sitting peacefully in a field beneath the foot of Mount Krakenburg, gathering flowers for her beloved elder sister, when the dark chariot materialized to collect her.

How the goddess, unaware, was pulled into the chariot, scattering rose petals in her wake as she was stolen away to the Underworld.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obviously, I took inspiration for this chapter from Xander and Leo's supports, because honestly, all of the siblings' supports are great, and these two needed to just sit down and talk things out. I may be a total sucker for Leo/Corrin (which is probably obvious from Leo's realization scene... and from, well, the fact that this fic exists), but I'm also a sucker for siblings bonding and talking things out.
> 
> Now, as you might have guessed, things are going to get interesting in the next chapter.... :)


	4. In the White Light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading this, as well as leaving comments and kudos. It's really encouraging, and you're great. Now, without much further ado, the stuff you _actually_ came here to read instead of my author's notes... :)

Xander attempted to contact Leo through Camilla’s magical mirror a few days later. Leo didn’t answer—probably occupied with Underworld business—so he left a message.

The contents of the message were as follows: before Corrin’s arrival, when Xander had tried to broach the subject of her potential marriage with Camilla (before he’d even mentioned Leo’s name), their sister had rejected the idea—so vehemently that she froze the branches of the nearest tree with an angry flourish of her hand and nearly killed Iago, frightening him out of his skin. Xander believed it would be best for everyone if Leo called off the chariot he’d been prepared to send to fetch Corrin next week, and that he didn’t say anything to Corrin about his feelings until they had slowly warmed Camilla up to the idea.

The message was never received. Or at least, if anyone received it, it wasn’t Leo.

The message that Leo did receive a few days afterward was a simple envelope, addressed in his brother’s familiar, neat penmanship. Upon opening it, Leo discovered a letter that made his pulse race.

_“Leo,_

_Corrin has arrived safely on Mount Krakenburg, and on the first night of her visit, I decided to broach the subject with her. Before I could even mention the possibility of your marriage, her eyes lit up the moment I mentioned you. She said that she misses you greatly and is eager to see you again._

_When I mentioned the idea of Corrin marrying you, she was elated. As it turns out, she has long harbored feelings for you, and she welcomes the prospect of this union.”_

It was at this point that Leo had to put the letter down in his lap for a minute, in order to catch his breath. His head was reeling. In truth, even though he’d entertained the idea when he’d spoken with Xander, he had never truly allowed himself to believe that Corrin might return his feelings. He only realized that he was wearing a ridiculous grin once his cheeks began to throb like his face was going to split in two. Leo inhaled deeply and finished reading Xander’s letter.

_“As such, we will honor our arrangement, and as planned, your retainers should be sent to fetch Corrin at the foot of Mount Krakenburg on the first day of summer. She fears that she may be shy about the subject of her feelings in your presence at first, because she is so accustomed to hiding them, but she hopes you will be patient with her._

_One final matter that I must discuss with you, brother—there is unrest aboveground. I didn’t want to tell you before, because I believed it to be less of a problem than it truly is, but now I cannot deny the danger. Corrin doesn’t know about it, because I would hate to worry her, especially after she and Elise have fought so hard to spread peace. I don’t want her to feel like her efforts were futile. However, I want my family to be safe. Bar your gates to the living, and with the exception of Corrin when she arrives, open them for no one. If I or your other siblings need to visit you, we will contact you ahead of time via your mirror._

_With you in the Underworld, Corrin will be safe from all of this. Once she arrives in your realm, you must not let her leave.”_

* * *

Corrin basked in this rare day of sunlight as she sat on her knees in the garden at the base of Mount Krakenburg. Birds chirped around them, and the light warmed Corrin’s shoulders. Although she’d heard that the sun shone often on the palace at the mountain’s peak above the clouds, the light rarely touched the ground below. The garden had been imbued with strong magic by its planter, or it would never have been able to grow in Nohr’s typical weather. The flowers were enchanted so that, once plucked, they would not wilt, and when one was picked, it would not be long before another grew in its place.

Today, it truly felt like the first afternoon of summer, as Corrin knelt in the garden beside Azura, chattering as she plucked roses from their bushes. Although she had only met Azura at the beginning of the war, the two women had become close almost immediately, and they had remained that way ever since. Azura’s presence soothed Corrin as she prepared for her reunion with Camilla, who was to escort her to the peak of Mount Krakenburg for the first time.

“Azura, you lived in the palace once. What was it like?”

Azura paused, thinking, the blue of her hair almost blending in with the hue of the sky behind her. “It was… beautiful. Ornate and golden, and so big that you could get lost in its halls, even months after coming there, and discover rooms you had never seen before.”

“I guess I’ll need to make sure Camilla escorts me wherever I go,” Corrin said with a thin chuckle.

“I’m sure she wouldn’t mind,” said Azura.

Corrin glanced down at the bouquet she was gathering for Camilla. Pink roses, representing affection and gratitude, and yellow for joy and friendship. She hoped Camilla would appreciate it.

Corrin smiled over at Azura. “I’m really glad that you’re coming with me, too. When I found out that Elise was planning to head straight to Cheve, I was nervous, but knowing that you’ll be here beside me makes me feel a lot braver.”

Azura returned Corrin’s smile, her eyes bright. “Thank you.”

As another way of making herself feel braver, Corrin had woven together a vibrant crown of roses and placed it in her hair. Pink and yellow flowers like she’d placed in Camilla’s bouquet, and white like newly fallen snow—to represent a new beginning. Orange for enthusiasm, and red. Red roses often represented love, but they could also signify courage, as Corrin stepped into an unfamiliar world.

“Truly,” Azura said in her soft, melodious voice, “I was a bit afraid when I first returned to the palace after the war. I hadn’t been there in so long, and it wasn’t always a kind place back then. But Xander’s court is nothing like his father’s used to be, and I was welcomed so warmly there.”

“I’m glad,” said Corrin. “You don’t deserve anything less.”

“Neither do you, Corrin. I understand why you’re nervous, but believe me, it won’t be as frightening as you th—”

The ground quaked, cutting Azura’s words off into a gasp. A massive, night-black shape exploded out of the earth, sending chunks of dirt and grass flying. Corrin startled and fell flat on her back. One moment, the garden had been peaceful, empty save for herself and Azura—and the next, this shape loomed before her. Through her shocked daze, she wondered if it might be a carriage belonging to Camilla, sent to fetch them up the mountain.

Then, a hand reached out and seized her arm, yanking her off the ground so suddenly that Camilla’s bouquet fell from her hands. She shrieked. Petals scattered in the breeze as Corrin was hauled up and into an unfamiliar chariot.

“Corrin!” Azura screamed. She leaped to her feet, searching for a weapon—prepared to spring after them and fight off Corrin’s would-be kidnappers. But the chariot had already vanished again, leaving no sign that it had ever appeared and stolen Corrin away, other than the pink and yellow roses strewn across the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...Well, that happened.
> 
> Fear not, this is definitely the shortest chapter of P&P. The next one will be much longer. After all, we're heading back to the Underworld. Thanks again for reading!


	5. The Black Pillar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Corrin enters the Underworld.

Corrin screamed as the unfamiliar chariot dragged her beneath the garden, into a world awash with darkness. She screamed even after her throat was ragged, until a hand clapped over her mouth.

“Peace, young Corrin.”

Corrin was not feeling especially peaceful. Her pulse hammered inside her ears, and the wind roared against the walls of the chariot, and adrenaline rushed through her veins with a force she hadn’t experienced since the war ended. Instinctively, she tried to sink her teeth into her kidnapper’s hand.

He jerked it away with a squeak. “Wait! Don’t you remember me? The darkest and most mysterious of heroes?”

She blinked, her eyes struggling to adjust from the white light of the garden to the overpowering darkness. Slowly, she made out the silhouette of a man with spiky blond hair and a dark mage’s uniform. He held his hand near his face to keep it out of range of Corrin’s teeth.

“Um, I’m sorry. I don’t know y…” She paused, squinting. “Wait… Were you in the war?”

“Which one? You’ll have to be more specific.” The man chuckled. “Just kidding! I am Odin Dark—warrior chosen by the darkness. And also chosen by Lord Leo, as his retainer.”

“Wait—Leo?” Corrin glanced around the chariot and the blackened world outside. _This is… the Underworld?_

“Of course,” said Odin. “Are you suggesting that I wouldn’t know the name of my own umbral liege?”

“Um… no? I don’t think so? But…” Corrin blinked, trying to make out her other abductor, the driver of the chariot—a pale-haired man with an eyepatch. Leo’s other retainer? “Why did the two of you kidnap me?”

“Kidnap? That’s a strange way of putting it,” said Odin with a laugh. “You’re funny, Lady Corrin! Of course the divine objective of this dark excursion is for the remediation of milord’s forlorn demeanor!”

“Try saying that five times fast,” muttered the driver, Leo’s other retailer. Niles, Corrin believed his name was.

“The presence of your incandescent aura, Lady Corrin,” Odin continued with a dramatic wave of his arm, “shall bolster Lord Leo and elevate his spirits to audacious new heights. The union of your souls shall not only revivify his heart, but also have a marvelous impact upon the totality of our shadow-cloaked realm!”

Corrin was silent for a long moment, as she struggled to translate this. _So… Leo is lonely in the Underworld, so his retainers decided to bring me here to visit him, hoping to cheer him up._ She paused, uttering a quiet “huh.” _An interesting way of bringing about a reunion, and hardly an acceptable reason to kidnap someone… But I’ve been meaning to visit Leo soon enough, anyway._

She straightened her shoulders, a small smile gracing her face for the first time since she’d been hauled into the chariot. “I understand now. Thank you both for doing this. And I’m really looking forward to seeing Leo again. It will be really nice to catch up with him and…” She hesitated. “What was that fancy term you used again? Unite our souls?”

Niles burst into snickers as he steered the chariot onward. “Oh, Lady Corrin, I never imagined I’d hear you, of all people, say such a thing.” He lowered his voice, his tone growing more serious. “But a word of warning—I wouldn’t be so forward with Leo. He’s putting up a bold front, of course, but the moment you say something like _that_ to him, he’s probably going to faint.”

By this point, Corrin was so thoroughly befuddled that she felt dizzy enough to faint herself—and the speed of Niles’s driving wasn’t helping. She decided she wasn’t even going to bother asking. Off the battlefield, Leo’s retainers were bewildering people.

She peered out the window of the chariot, trying to see where they were. Not that it helped, since aside from the fact that it was quite dark, Corrin had never visited the Underworld before and was unable to spot any identifiable landmarks. “Excuse me,” she called to Niles. “How long until we get there?”

He chuckled. “Don’t worry, we’re getting close now.”

“How close is close?”

The chariot screeched to a halt, making Corrin stagger. Niles turned around in his seat. “‘ _We’re here_ ’ close.”

Corrin alighted from the carriage a bit too eagerly, and a brief jolt shot up her ankles. She paused a moment to recover and get her bearings. Just like the glimpses of the Underworld she’d seen from the window of the chariot, this place was dark, but now that her eyes had adjusted, she could make out the outline of a grand black palace looming before them. It was beautiful, in a way—with graceful arches and ornately decorated windows and double doors—but it was also bleak, and Corrin swallowed hard as they approached it.

“This way, milady.” Niles and Odin led her up to the towering front doors of Leo’s palace. Corrin couldn’t fight back a shudder as her eyes settled on a large statue of a beastly, three-headed dog carved out of dark stone, guarding the entrance.

“Ah,” said Odin, following the path of her eyes. “This is the elite guardian of the Underworld—Cerberus. Aren’t his teeth fearsome? Three sets of them!”

“Cerberus?” Corrin repeated. _But… it's just a statue. Does it really need a name?_

Niles piped up. “It literally means ‘spotted one.’ Basically, Odin named it Spot.”

“Don’t tell her that!” Odin hissed.

Corrin giggled. _“Spot?” Huh… It seems a lot less frightening than it did a second ago._

Odin and Niles escorted her inside, through a candlelit atrium and into a long, winding corridor. Torches hung on the walls—making the hall a lot less dark, but casting shadows on the wall, as well.

“My brother… sure has a talent for decorating, doesn’t he?” said Corrin with a pale grin. Her voice echoed down the corridor, heralding their approach.

“Definitely,” said Niles. “Lord Leo has added a lot of nice touches to the place. This hallway used to be a lot more spine-chilling.”

Odin nodded. “Of course, this is only the front entrance to our lair. The dark path through which the lost souls of the dead enter to await their judgment is… Well, it’s super creepy.”

“They enter the palace from behind,” Niles added helpfully.

“That’s, uh… good to know,” said Corrin. She frowned as she followed them around a bend in the corridor. Shadows flickered and lunged across the walls, and she clasped her hands in front of her as walked, trying not to shiver.

_Poor Leo… No wonder he’s lonely in a place like this. And to think—I haven’t come here to visit him even once. And the others are so busy that I doubt they come here often, either. It’s just Leo and his retainers._ Corrin pictured her little brother, alone, sentenced to an eternity of deciding the fates of every soul that passed from the world aboveground. _A world that he’ll never truly belong to again…_ Her stance steeled with resolve. __

Niles and Odin came to a stop, so suddenly that Corrin almost bumped into them. They stood in front of a set of black double doors, carved with elaborate swirls and symbols in a language that Corrin couldn’t read. She stared at the engravings, transfixed, as Niles rapped at the door.

“Milord?” he sang. “Your lady’s here.”

There was no answer.

Niles knocked again. “Lord Leo?” He opened the doors and peered inside. “He’s not here. Oh well. While we’re here, we might as well introduce Lady Corrin to the room where Lord Leo has spent most of his time until now.”

“Until now?” Corrin asked. “Is that going to change for some reason?”

“I was insinuating that, judging by your eagerness to get here…” He shook his head, smiling. “Never mind, Lady Corrin. Now, there are a few places I suspect he might have gone—it is his lunch break, after all—but you might as well come inside and take a look at the throne room.”

Corrin stepped through the doors, with Odin following behind. She stopped still, just a few steps into the throne room. Her eyes were instantly drawn to the throne itself: an elevated chair carved from dark wood, with an impossibly high back, cushions of dark purple velvet, and armrests fashioned to look like curling branches and vines. It didn’t look uncomfortable, but it did look unsettling. She couldn’t imagine sitting there day after day and doling out punishments.

The rest of the throne room wasn’t much less forbidding. It was cavernous, and echoes of the trio’s footsteps still rebounded off the vaulted ceiling. The walls were high and crafted of ebony stone—obsidian or something equally grim—and they only bore a few torches to chase away the worst of the dark. There were no windows. Even if there were, there was no light to be seen outside. No sun, no flowers, no birds. Corrin suspected that she, Leo, and his retainers were the only living beings in the entirety of the vast Underworld.

“This… This is…”

“Isn’t it, though?” Odin said, beaming. Corrin wondered if he was seeing an entirely different throne room than she was—perhaps the one on Mount Krakenburg. This one held a certain grim glamour to it… from a certain angle, from a certain slant of mind… but it didn’t warrant such an ecstatic tone. Unless, she supposed, your name was something as dramatic as “Odin Dark.”

Corrin turned to Niles. “You said that it’s Leo’s lunch break, didn’t you? Do you know where he might be?”

“Either the great hall or the garden,” he said. “Or maybe milord skipped lunch to read again. We’ll peek into the great hall first. Come with me.”

The great hall was an immense chamber with a long hardwood table—far too large for a palace containing only three living souls. Corrin felt lonely just looking at it. After that, Niles peered into the library—Corrin caught the briefest glimpse of several towering shelves of books through the crack in the door—before shaking his head. “The garden, then. Lord Leo has grown fond of taking his meals directly from the garden lately.”

Corrin followed Leo’s retainers back out of the palace—Niles offered to take them out the back way, but she decided she wasn’t prepared to see the waiting hordes of the dead—and into a forest so thick and shadowy that it made the Woods of the Forlorn look pleasant. Corrin stayed close beside Odin and Niles, for fear of getting lost. “Is Leo really in here?” she whispered.

“Of course. What, did you think we were leading you out into the middle of the woods to murder you?” Niles asked. “Then we’d just have to deal with your disgruntled spirit immediately after. Sounds like a hassle. Anyway, you’re practically a second charge to Odin and me, at this point.”

_I guess that’s true,_ Corrin thought. _While I’m here visiting Leo, it’s their job to look out for me, too._

“When our mysterious triad was first dispatched here on our most important mission,” said Odin, “Lord Leo utilized his vast supernatural powers, bestowed upon him by the universe itself, to make the very earth bend to his will—compelling lush vegetation to rise up out of the murkiness of the ground to provide divine sustenance for our quest.”

Corrin blinked. “Uh… what?”

“Lord Leo used magic to make food grow here so we wouldn’t starve to death,” Niles explained.

“Oh,” said Corrin with a faint smile. “That’s nice.”

“You’ll love it. It’s surprisingly delicious.”

As they kept walking, something tugged at a corner of Corrin’s mind. _But…_ Something wasn’t right here. _Don’t they say that, if you eat the food of the Underworld, you can never leave?_

At last, they came to a tiny clearing near the far side of the forest. It was half-concealed by shadows, but she was able to make out a small garden—a few varying types of fruits and, if her eyes were honest, even a small rosebush. And kneeling in front of the garden, a cloaked figure…

“Leo!” The cry broke free of Corrin’s mouth, and she was running. By the time Leo had turned around, probably before he’d fully recognized her presence, she’d skidded to her knees in the dirt beside him and flung her arms around his neck, almost tight enough to choke him.

She said his name again, tears prickling in her eyes. She hadn’t really realized how much she’d missed her brother until she set eyes on him again, but then, it hit her like a lethal blow. Leo, his hair more unkempt than she was used to, kneeling in front of the life he’d coaxed into being in the middle of this forlorn place… Her every instinct had been to run to him. The Underworld was cold, but as Corrin wrapped her arms around him from behind, Leo was warm.

* * *

“C-Corrin.” His tongue tripped over the familiar syllables of her name, and Leo hated himself for it. Here she was, his… his _betrothed_ , and he was so childishly nervous that he couldn’t even wrap his mouth around her name. Even though he’d held a fleeting grudge against her as a boy because she’d forgotten his own name.

Corrin relinquished her grip on his shoulders long enough for him to turn around and face her, before she wrapped him in another hug. The initial impact of her embrace had knocked the breath out of his lungs, and just as he recovered it, the sight of her stole it away again. She had cut her hair shorter since the last time he’d seen her. The ends didn’t even brush her collarbone, and its lightened weight made her hair curl more than it used to. It stood out against the dark like starlight, and so did her pale gray dress. Her feet were as bare as they used to be when she roamed the corridors of the Northern Fortress. And there were roses nestled in her hair, in a variety of summer shades. Leo thought he made out the color red amongst the blooms.

_Red—isn’t that supposed to represent love?_ Suddenly, this felt sharply real. The thought chilled and warmed him all at once. A stray spiral of hair hung in Corrin’s face, and he itched to brush it out of her eyes, but even now that he knew that she returned his feelings, he was hesitant to touch her in any way that wasn’t strictly platonic. The thought of such a simple act as brushing his fingertips against her cheek felt too foreign to conceive.

“I missed you so much,” Corrin said. The roses in her hair brought out the color in her glimmering eyes. “How are you?”

“I’m doing well,” he said reflexively.

“Honestly?” she asked.

“Honestly.” Leo’s cheeks warmed despite himself. Corrin was here, in his realm, in his arms, and her warmth reminded him that this wasn’t just a longing-fueled fantasy (not that he'd ever had those or anything). She was here because she wanted to be by his side. “I’m… even better,” he said haltingly, “now that you’re here.”

Corrin’s smile widened, and she hugged him even tighter. “Leo…”

Over her shoulder, Leo saw his retainers hanging back at the edge of the clearing. Niles nudged Odin and murmured something about “leaving the lovebirds to enjoy each other’s company,” and they vanished back into the trees.

Niles’s implication rang in his liege’s ears. _Does he honestly believe that we’d…? Here in the dirt? Not to mention, we aren’t even wed yet._ The heat in Leo’s face didn’t subside. If the thought of merely caressing Corrin’s face was too much to act upon, the idea of doing anything more than that—with _Corrin_ : beautiful, ingenuous Corrin—nearly made his brain shut down.

Leo gently freed himself from Corrin’s grip, trying to regain his ability to speak. “I… hope your journey here wasn’t too jarring,” he told her. “I remember my first visit. Father brought me down here when I was young, and I couldn’t get over how dark it was. He had me stand by the throne as he judged the day’s dead—an endless parade of them, kneeling before us in the dark. Did Odin and Niles show you the throne room?” She nodded. Leo realized that he was rambling, but even so, he wasn’t stopping. He was shy of the prospect of silence. “Father was rarely lenient in his judgments, but he was fair. The last soul that passed through the throne room that day was a man who had killed a dozen people, for the sake of his family. And before he made his judgment, Father asked me where I would send the man if it was my choice.”

The smile had faded from Corrin’s face. “What did you say?”

“I didn’t want him to think I was too soft,” he said, “so I suggested the Fields of Punishment.” Corrin’s lips parted in a silent gasp, but Leo continued before she could speak. “Ultimately, Father sent him to the Fields of Asphodel. This was many years ago, before he… changed. He didn’t approve of the man’s actions, but he understood why one might go to terrible lengths for family, so he was merciful.”

Her eyes were soft, but wistful. “I never saw that side of him. That makes it easier to understand why it was so hard for the rest of you to… to come to terms with what he’d become.”

Silence descended on the clearing, just as choking as Leo had imagined it would be. He was conscious of their surroundings and how Corrin must perceive them: the flat, dead quality of the air, the smallness of his garden surrounded by gnarled trees, just how black the Underworld must have seemed to someone who had walked in the light only this morning. He reached toward her arm, then stopped.

“Are you sure that you want to be here?”

Corrin blinked up at him, and he realized they were still kneeling on the ground. Her bare knees were spattered with dirt from the way she’d skidded to the earth to reach him. The flecks stood out against her pale skin like reverse-colored stars in a white sky. Leo flushed as he realized he was staring. If this was how he reacted to something so simple—knees that he’d seen a thousand times before, and knees that were still a bit childishly knobby, at that—he was not going to survive very long in this marriage.

“Why would you even have to ask that? Of course I do,” said Corrin. “I should have come to see you ages ago. Of course, I don’t think it was necessary for your retainers to _kidnap_ me. Did you ask them to—”

“Wait. Kidnap,” Leo echoed. He looked more closely at Corrin’s expression. At the flyaway strands of hair sticking up from her rose crown. At the tiny, jagged tear in the hem of her dress. He felt the warmth start to leech out of his chest.

She nodded. “It’s all right—I’m not angry at them or at you. It gave me a push that I honestly needed.” But she looked frazzled. And her voice croaked—like she’d been screaming. Like she’d been scared. “I shouldn’t have let my fear of this place keep me away from my own little brother. So… thank you.”

_“From my own little brother…”_ If not for the other oddities, Leo might have dismissed it as a slip of the tongue, the emergence of an old habit. But the sum of these details made his stomach sink. He had to test this theory.

“Thanking me? Don’t be ridiculous, Corrin.” He plucked a plump tomato from his garden and extended it to her. “Are you hungry? Here.”

Corrin stared at his offering and frowned. “But Leo, I’m not supposed to eat food grown in the Underworld. Otherwise, I’ll be stuck here forever like y…” She trailed off, biting her lip.

But Leo had already heard enough to confirm his sprouting suspicions. He wasn’t a fool. Even down here in the depths of the Underworld, he was still the god of wisdom, and he knew that Corrin had not chosen to come here in order to become his wife. He felt the confidence seep out of his shoulders, as a cold current swept into his ribcage.

He should have been suspicious earlier. Corrin—kind-hearted Corrin who belonged in the brilliant light of summer—wanting to spend eternity imprisoned in the Underworld? Falling in love with Leo, whom she’d been raised to believe was her brother? And her younger, less acclaimed, mortal-mothered brother at that? _I knew that all of this was too good to be true._

“I’m sorry,” Corrin said quickly. “That was tactless of me to say, wasn’t it?”

Leo shook his head, and a weak chuckle dislodged itself from his throat. “It’s all right. Maybe you were a bit blunt, but I’d be a hypocrite to scold you for that.”

She laughed out loud, and Leo’s stomach sank even further—because the sound of her laugh stirred up the same warm, inescapable feelings inside his chest, and if she found out how he felt, he’d probably never hear her laugh again.

Why would Xander have sent him a letter saying that Corrin loved him if it wasn’t true? Leo knew his older brother better than to believe that he would ever be so needlessly cruel. He couldn’t dismiss Xander’s letter as carelessness, either—even if he was distracted by the threat aboveground, he would never outright lie like this, about something so important. This didn’t add up.

Corrin rose from the ground, dusting flecks of dirt off her knees and the hem of her dress. “Your lunch break should be almost over, right? You should finish your work for the day, and then we can spend more time together.” She extended a hand to pull him to his feet.

Leo stared at it for a split second before he grasped her fingers and stood. Her hand was warm, but he pulled away the instant he’d regained his footing. “All right, I’ll have Niles or Odin show you to your room if you’d like, and I’ll come and visit you after I’m finished with my duties.”

“My room?” Corrin asked.

He cursed internally. “The guest room,” he amended. “But consider it yours while you’re here.”

“Thank you, Leo.”

“And Corrin?” he said, as they turned their backs on the garden and began the trek back to Leo’s palace. “The roses in your hair—they came from the base of Mount Krakenburg, did they not?” When she concurred, he nodded in satisfaction. “They’re safe to eat. If you get hungry, eat one. But be careful to conserve them so they’ll last.”

Corrin tilted her head, drifting closer to Leo as they passed through the dark clusters of knotted trees. “Why? How long is this visit going to last? Not that I’m not happy to spend more time with you, of course, but…”

He hesitated. “We’ll speak about this later.” _Once I’ve received word from Xander about what the hell is going on aboveground._ Leo’s cloak fluttered in his wake as he strode through the forest toward his palace, agonizingly conscious of Corrin’s warmth beside him. The thought pounded through his mind with every step: _Of course. Of course it was too damned good to be true._

“Hey, Leo?” Corrin asked quietly, after a minute had passed.

He made an effort to keep his voice steady. For a second, a fleeting second, he hoped. “Yes?”

“You, um…” She was obviously trying—and failing—to stifle a smile. “Your collar is messed up.”

“What?” He removed the offending article, heat rising to his cheeks. “I-it must have been your doing, when you practically tackled me.”

She giggled. “That might explain it, if only it was crooked or backwards. But it was inside-out.”

“Hmph.” Leo increased the length of his stride, hoping Corrin would lag behind so she wouldn’t see the color his face was turning. He twisted his collar around in his hands, ensuring that it would be facing the right way when he put it back on. If he put it on inside-out again… _She’d never let me live it down._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you haven't realized yet, flustered Leo is one of my favorite Leos to write. Niles's innuendoes are also one of my favorite things to write (Liv, you are asexual as heck, why are you even like this?). Oh, and also Leo/Corrin, of course, but I wouldn't be writing this fic if that wasn't the case.
> 
> Thanks as always to all of my lovely readers! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. And yes, Cerberus is indeed derived from a word meaning "spotted." The more you know. :)


	6. Just Out of Reach

“Camilla, I… I’m not sure what happened. Corrin and I were in the garden, and suddenly, a huge black shape materialized and snatched her away. They were gone before I could stop them. I’m so sorry….”

Camilla urged Marzia to fly faster as they neared the peak of Mount Krakenburg, Azura’s words still ringing in her ears. Her pulse thundered. Blood blazed through her veins. Someone had stolen away her darling little sister—and _oh_ , that someone was going to suffer. For every hair they harmed on Corrin’s precious head, Camilla would wrench another scream out of their lungs.

She burst into Xander’s study, ignoring the fact that he was half-buried behind a heap of documents and hardcovers. “Xander! Corrin has been kidnapped!”

He rose from his desk, nearly knocking over a small potted plant in the process. Creases cut across his forehead. “What?”

The story spilled out of Camilla’s mouth, and she clenched her fingers into fists to hide their trembling. Her long fingernails dug into the skin of her palms, almost drawing blood, but the pain was welcome. It diverted some of her attention away from the agony of discovering that Corrin had been stolen away from them.

When she’d finished relating what Azura had told her, Xander paused, crossing his arms and drumming his fingers absently against them. “Corrin was stolen by a huge black shape, like a chariot….”

Camilla noticed that Xander’s eyes were sleepless and shadowed. A smear of ink stained the side of his hand from where he’d been writing. Permanent frown lines had already entrenched themselves into her older brother’s face, even though he was still young by the gods’ standards, and he looked older still in this moment.

“Leo,” he muttered.

“Good idea,” said Camilla. “He might know how to find this mysterious chariot that took her.”

“No,” Xander said slowly, shaking his head as if he didn’t want to believe his own words. “I’m saying that Leo might have been the one who did it.”

One of Camilla’s nails _did_ puncture her palm. She hardly noticed. “What?”

Xander sighed. “Do you remember when I mentioned the idea of Corrin getting married in the near future?”

“How could I forget such a ridiculous idea? Corrin’s just a dear little girl—far too young to be getting married.” Camilla stopped, trying to calm the flame of her rage. “But what does this have to do with…?”

The flame in Camilla’s heart exploded into an inferno. Fire scorched the walls of her ribcage and blasted through her bloodstream. _Leo._ She’d known for years and years that her little brother harbored a crush on Corrin—probably long before Leo himself ever realized it. But she had never realized that his feelings ran so deep, if they were powerful enough to turn him into the sort of person who would kidnap their sister with the intent of forcing her to marry him. _It doesn’t make sense, it doesn’t make sense._ But a firestorm ravaged Camilla from the inside, rage and anguish gouging into her chest.

“Xander.” She tried to keep her voice calm, but the blades buried within her words were still apparent. “Why were you trying to talk to me about Corrin’s marriage?”

Her brother sighed again. His shoulders slumped beneath the weight of his words. “Because when I last visited Leo in the Underworld, I learned that he’s in love with her. That he wants to marry her. So I told him that, when Corrin came here, I’d talk to her on his behalf… and on the chance that she agreed, he could send a chariot to pick her up at the base of Mount Krakenburg today—on the first day of summer.”

Camilla clenched her teeth, reining in her words until Xander was finished. Blood trickled out of the self-inflicted cut on her palm, and she wiped it distractedly onto her armor. The pain was a diversion, a salve to dull the pain of what was happening to her family. It was concrete, real, as soothing as a mother’s rasping lullaby.

“But when I talked to you, I realized that it wasn’t a good idea to spring the idea on Corrin and the rest of the family so suddenly,” Xander said, still drumming his fingers. His nails were bitten to the quick. “I send a message to Leo via the mirror, telling him this—in no uncertain terms.” He shook his head, again and again, as if trying to dissuade himself. “I don’t understand why he would do something like this.”

“He wouldn’t be the first man in the world to be driven mad by passion,” Camilla said in a near-whisper. “Not even the first in this family.”

Their father had been a kindly man once—Camilla could still remember it. The old Father, who could light up Camilla’s day with a single smile, even if her mother had been short with her again. Garon had loved Xander’s mother so much that her death had sent him spiraling, and he had loved the mothers of his other children, too. He’d cared for them so much that he couldn’t stand the thought of breaking their hearts—so instead, he’d let them do as they wished. Even when “what they wished” had ended up hurting each other and their children. Camilla could still feel the sting of her mother’s palm and the rake of her nails—the pain wrought by her mother’s love—just remembering those times long past. She fought back a shudder.

“But Leo is so rational,” said Xander. “He is quite literally the god of wisdom. Surely he wouldn’t…”

Camilla shook her head, exhaling through her teeth in a sharp hiss. “His motivations are irrelevant right now, while Corrin is missing. I’m going to call him and ask him if it’s true. Oh, I dearly hope it’s not. Then, he can help us find her.”

“And what if it is true?” Xander asked.

Her gaze settled on the potted plant on Xander’s desk, and she stretched out her blood-smeared hand. As she curled her fingers inward, the plant’s verdant leaves shriveled and browned, before they were crusted over with a thin layer of ice.

She smiled. “Don’t worry about it, brother.”

* * *

“Leo, darling, this is your big sister. I assume that you’re busy with work right now, but as soon as you can, please call me back. We have a problem pertaining to Corrin, and Xander tells me that you might know exactly what I’m referring to. And if you don’t—well, we could still use your help, my brilliant little brother.”

“Leo, it’s Camilla again. Are you really so busy working that you can’t even check your mirror for long enough to talk to your own sister? I know time passes more quickly down there, so you _must_ have been back to your chambers at least once by now. Please get back to me. Or even better, have Corrin call me. I hear that she’s with you—please correct me if I’m wrong.”

“You still haven’t called me. Xander won’t stop pacing, and Azura feels so guilty for letting our darling Corrin get stolen away, and I want to think the best of you, Leo—I do—but I’m beginning to fear the worst too, you know. I hope this is all a massive misunderstanding, and we can all sit down together and laugh about this later. You had better hope so, too.”

* * *

_“Leo,_

_I’m so glad that Corrin is safe with you. It lightens my heart considerably to know that the two of you are secure in the Underworld. The situation in Nohr hasn’t improved yet, but Camilla and I are looking for a way to resolve it without any unnecessary loss. The orders that I issued in my last letter still stand. You have such an important job to do, and I need you to remain safe, as well as Corrin and your retainers._

_-Xander”_

* * *

“Leo, what is going on? If a day has gone by up here, many more must have passed down there. If you’re really the god of wisdom, you know what will happen if you don’t fix this. Oh, and this is your loving sister Camilla, by the way.”

“The silent treatment is juvenile, Leo. It isn’t like you. If you aren’t going to answer me, at least let me talk to Corrin! She’s my sister too, you know, and I need to know that she’s all right! I don’t care if you’re my brother—if you’re keeping her there against her will, I will have your head. Among other things. This is your final warning, Leo.”

“I’m coming down there. I _will_ get my sister back. Don’t think I won’t.”

“Leo… this is Xander. Why is our entrance to the Underworld closed? Corrin is still gone, and we haven’t heard anything from you, and Camilla is… Leo, it’s bad. I _need_ you to answer us. Please.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Camilla loves her family more than anything, and woe to anyone who threatens her loved ones. Even if it's another loved one. (For some reason I kept having flashbacks to Birthright during this chapter. Because enemy Camilla was scary.)
> 
> To be honest, she probably tried calling Castle Underworld far more times than I showed here, but that would be a lot of very similar messages. So I just hit the highlights. If... "highlights" is really the right word.
> 
> Also, obviously a lot of the stuff about Camilla's mother in this fic is pure headcanon. We know the Nohr sibs' mothers sucked and used their kids as pawns (which is already abusive in itself), but as far as I know, we don't actually have any canonical references to Camilla's mother being physically abusive. What we do know is that Camilla had a... kind of warped way of expressing love at times, and there are a lot of possibilities about how exactly that came about. In actuality, it's probably a plethora of different reasons (because human behavior is really complicated), but this has always been a headcanon of mine (read: I'm projecting again) but one that I think makes a bit of sense. *shrugs*
> 
> One last thing: I just realized I reached 100 kudos! Wow, that's a lot. Thanks to each and every one of you, because you guys are amazing. Without you, I'd just be rambling into a void. :)


	7. Life Beyond

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anxiety trigger warning for the start of the chapter. If anybody's upset by reading about panic attacks and that sort of thing (because I know I can be, depending on my current emotional state), just letting you know in advance. It's pretty brief, though.

“What do you mean, I can’t leave?”

Corrin had declined Leo’s retainers’ offer to show her to the guest room, and instead, she’d waited in the great hall for hours for Leo to finish his daily work. Odin and Niles had tried to entertain her, but she had been hopelessly distracted, twisting her fingers in the hem of her gown and puzzling over the words of her brother and his retainers. Something felt strange, like the earth was shifting slightly beneath her feet, and she didn’t think it was only because she was in the Underworld. When Leo had arrived and taken his seat at the head of the table, Corrin had only given him a minute’s peace before she began asking questions.

But she had never expected Leo to answer this way. “I mean exactly what I said, sister—you aren’t allowed to leave the Underworld. Not now.”

Corrin’s pulse hammered in her ears. She felt it throbbing in her throat and in her fingers as they coiled in the light fabric of her dress. The great hall felt sharply colder than it had a minute ago. She was conscious of Leo and his retainers watching her, but she hardly saw them at all. _I can’t leave. I can’t leave…._

Suddenly, she was a child once more—pleading with Gunter and Xander and anyone who would listen, to please let her leave the Northern Fortress. _“I just want to leave the grounds for a minute. I won’t go far—and you can come with me!” “Can you at least ask Father why not?” “Just tell me what I’ve done wrong. I-I’ll be good, I promise….”_ Her hands curled into fists so her fingers wouldn’t tremble. But her lip was already quaking, enough to give away her fear.

“Corrin…” Leo started.

“Why?” Her voice was louder than she’d expected, and shrill. She even sounded like the lonely child that Garon had shut up in the Northern Fortress for years. “Why am I not allowed to leave?”

He lowered his gaze to the table and hesitated for a moment, his teeth ghosting across his lower lip. “I can’t say. You simply can’t.” Odin and Niles shared a questioning frown, but Leo shook his head.

And Corrin’s pulse picked up even more, until its roar drowned out the rest of the world. The walls of her skull were closing in, tight and screaming. “Why are you doing this?” she said. She didn’t dare to raise her voice above a whisper again, for fear that it would shatter. “I—I know that I should have visited sooner, but I… Leo, I promise I’ll come back. You d-don’t have to…”

A choked sob broke out of her throat, and her tears felt as hot as lava against the cold of her cheeks. A blizzard consumed her mind, an overpowering fear like she hadn’t experienced since her nightmares nearly faded during her travels with Elise. Her knuckles were white, quivering in her lap. Her head felt weightless and numb. She wasn’t sure if she was breathing. The world skewed on its side, and it took Corrin a moment to understand that she’d slumped onto the table. She heard her name as if from a distance, but she could barely make it out over the frantic thunder of her heart.

“Corrin?” Warm hands gripped her shoulders, urging her upright. “Corrin, look at me.”

She blinked, struggling to concentrate on the speaker’s face. Brown eyes swam into focus, dark and wide with concern. _Leo…_ She stared at him, gasping for breath, as he clutched her shoulders.

“Now breathe in. Slowly… And out.”

She struggled to follow his hazy directions, and stale air rattled into her lungs and shuddered back out again. He repeated himself, and she obeyed, until the breaths came more easily again. Tears still beaded in her lashes, and she tried to blink them away. Her pulse had slowed a little, but it was still too fast and hard. “Leo,” she breathed.

It was only then, as she returned to herself, that Corrin noticed Niles and Odin’s absence. Leo must have sent them away at some point. They were alone in the great hall, just Corrin and Leo and his comforting hands on her shoulders, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and let him hold her like she was the younger sibling instead of him.

“Are you feeling better?” he asked quietly, and she nodded against his shoulder. “Good. I sent Odin and Niles to fetch a blanket and some water. Water that originally came from aboveground, so don’t worry anymore.”

Shame crushed down on Corrin’s shoulders, settling into the void in her chest left behind by the panic. She hadn’t lost control of herself like that in so long, and she’d forgotten all of the grounding techniques that Elise had taught her. She must have looked so pathetic to Leo and his retainers. Leo, who was always in control of himself, occasional collar malfunctions aside. He had to think she was so weak—Corrin, who could bloody her hands to survive a war, but couldn’t even cope with the simple thought of being confined to a dark fortress which _he’d_ been bound to for years.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “My first day here, and I’m already causing you t-trouble….”

Leo scoffed. “Don’t be. My retainers cause me far more trouble on a daily basis.”

“Rude.” Niles breezed into the great hall bearing a blanket, with Odin on his heels, carrying a large goblet. Leo jolted away from Corrin as they entered, and Niles chuckled. “Sorry to interrupt, milord.” His tone was teasing, but he was surprisingly gentle as he draped the blanket over Corrin’s shoulders.

Odin placed the goblet on the table in front of Corrin. “Water, derived from the springs of the land beyond. Enjoy!”

Corrin took a gulp of cool water and felt it sweep down her throat, chasing away more of her nerves. Her pulse was calming now, and she smiled at Leo and his retainers in turn. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me,” Leo said. He dropped his voice. “It’s my fault for refusing to explain what’s going on, anyway, isn’t it?”

Corrin bit her lip and didn’t answer.

He exhaled through his teeth, his gaze flickering over to Niles and Odin. “Xander doesn’t want me telling you this, but he asked me to keep you here with me for the time being.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Because he wrote to me and said that there is some sort of unrest aboveground. He considers it enough of a threat that he wants you to stay in the Underworld, where you’ll be safe. Until Xander says otherwise, we’re supposed to barricade our doors to the living, for our own good.”

Corrin paused, absorbing this, trying not to lose herself to fear again. “But why didn’t he say any of this to me? And why didn’t he want you to tell me?”

“He’s worried that the news would hurt you,” said Leo. “He knows how hard you’ve worked to spread peace.”

She sat up straight in her seat, her shoulders taut. Her heartbeat accelerated again, but she focused on keeping her breathing under control. “If I was up there, I could help him and the others fight against this threat, whatever it is. Did Xander tell you anything more about it?”

“Not yet.” Leo laced his fingers together on the smooth tabletop. Corrin noticed faint bags lurking beneath his eyes. “I’m going to write a letter to him in a little while. I sent off a brief one after my lunch break, just telling him that you’d arrived safely, but I want to ask him more about the situation myself. I’ll tell you what he says.”

“Thanks.”

Corrin pulled the velvety blanket more tightly around her shoulders, relishing its warmth as she stared around at the walls of the great hall. So… she was confined here until further notice. It really _was_ like the Northern Fortress all over again. But this time, at least she had a vague notion of why she was being kept here. Corrin took a deep breath. _This won’t be so bad._ She would have to ration her roses cautiously, and be careful not to eat anything from the Underworld. But on the bright side, she would be able to catch up with Leo and maybe ease the burdens of his work while she was here.

She fought back a yawn. _After… I take a long nap._ The onslaught of anxiety had drained her, and now, the rest of her body felt just as heavy as her eyelids. “Hey, Leo?” she asked.

Leo stiffened, reflexively inspecting his collar. Corrin giggled, and he scowled at her. “What?”

“Would you mind showing me where the guest room is? I’m feeling kind of tired.”

Niles raised his eyebrows.

“Of course.” Leo rose from the head of the table and gestured to the doors leading out of the great hall. “This way.”

Corrin followed after him. As they stepped into the hallway, she was struck again by how ominous the flickering torches and dark shadows looked. She pulled the blanket even tighter around her shoulders and stuck close to Leo as he led her up a spiral staircase and down another corridor. At last, they reached a door—more modestly decorated than the entrance to Leo’s throne room—and Leo stopped.

“Here we are. Your room. If you need anything, my chambers are just down the hall.” He gestured several doors down, to a door with a gilded handle. Then, he hesitated, his gaze sweeping over Corrin’s face and the blanket wrapped around most of her body. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

She nodded. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”

Leo reached up and adjusted his headband. “Is that… something that happens often?”

“No. Well,” she amended, “not for a long time. It used to happen a lot more, right after the war.” She remembered jolting awake in a breathless panic, sweat slicking her hair to her cheeks, and tossing off her blankets because she felt like they were strangling her. Being unable to fall back asleep, so she would just stare wide-eyed at the walls as she tried to calm her nerves again. “But it got so much better since I started traveling with Elise. Staying busy helps.”

Leo’s frown deepened, and Corrin figured that he was thinking along the same lines that she was.

“But I’ll be fine. There are plenty of things I can do to keep busy.” She sifted through her memories of Niles and Odin’s abridged tour of the castle. “You have a library, right? So there are plenty of books to read. Or I could help you with your garden—”

“I use Brynhildr for that,” he interjected.

“Then I could help you with your work,” Corrin started.

Leo shook his head. “You would hate it, Corrin. Just stick to the library. It isn’t much, compared to the library on Mount Krakenburg, but there are certainly enough books to keep you busy until you’re allowed to return home.”

A sad note slipped into his voice on that last phrase, and Corrin instinctively reached out to grasp his hand. His fingers tensed at her touch. “Leo,” she whispered. “I really am sorry that I didn’t visit for so long. I promise you, I’ll come back more often in the future.”

Her brother pulled his hand free from her grip, but not roughly. “I believe you.”

“And while I’m here,” she said, “I’ll spend as much time with you as I can, when you aren’t working. We can just sit around in the library, or go out in the garden, or do whatever you want to.”

The amber torchlight cast a warm glow over Leo’s cheeks. “I… should probably go and write that letter to Xander. Goodnight, sister.”

“Goodnight. Send Xander and the others my love.” Corrin watched as Leo walked down the corridor to his chambers and stepped inside, his shoulders slumping a little just before his door closed. Then, she twisted the doorknob and stepped into the guest room.

Her first thought was that it was remarkably different from the rest of Leo’s grim palace. The walls were painted a pale, muted shade of green, like springtime, and the bed and the rest of the furniture were a soft ivory color. A small vase of dark red roses sat on top of the dresser. Corrin pried open the top drawer and discovered two rows of neatly folded clothes in varying hues and styles.

_Did he have these sent to the palace, just so I wouldn’t run out of things to wear while I’m here? _A quiet smile spread across her face. Leo would rather die than admit that he’d done something like this just to be thoughtful, but Corrin thought it was adorable. So was the way Leo would undoubtedly blush and glare at her if she ever brought it up.__

__And then, there were the flowers. Corrin brushed her fingertips against the velvet-softness of a petal. They were real, presumably from the bush in Leo’s garden. Her younger brother truly was sweet, deep down—going out of his way to make her stay in the Underworld as pleasant as possible. In fact… Corrin sniffed. The room smelled faintly of paint. She imagined Leo and his retainers, bantering as they brushed paint across the walls of one of the palace’s dismal rooms in order to brighten it before Corrin’s arrival. Her smile grew even broader._ _

__Maybe she was confined once again to a place where she didn’t want to be, but this was going to be different than the first time. Corrin wasn’t a bewildered little girl with no memory, imprisoned in a tower in the Northern Fortress. And she wasn’t alone. She was here with Leo, and that meant that neither of them had to be lonely anymore._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's weird: I'm really good at _having_ anxiety attacks, but I'm never quite sure whether or not I'm good at writing them. Even though that's the one I'd definitely rather be skilled at. Hahaha... haha... ha.
> 
> Well, at least _some_ communication has gone on now. Let's be honest, Corrin would not have put up with being stuck in the Underworld for very long without some sort of explanation. (Even if, unbeknownst to her, this was only a partial one.) And at least the chapter ended on a more positive note than it began. I had to have some cuteness in this chapter, since I am posting it on my 2nd dating anniversary (!!!), after all.
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed! I really appreciate every hit, kudos, and comment. You're super great. :)


	8. Whispers on the Wind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leo takes Corrin on a more expansive tour of the Underworld.

The garden at the foot of Mount Krakenburg had frozen solid. Azura had wandered down the gods’ mountain in the faint hopes that Corrin might have been returned to the place where Azura last saw her, but all that she found was ice. Bitter frost encased every leaf and petal and thorn. The roses’ vivid blooms had browned and shriveled in the abrupt lash of winter that was sweeping across Nohr. It was June, yet Azura had to don a heavy fur cloak in order to keep from freezing.

She traced her fingers over a rose, and the rough ice crystals bit into her hand even through her glove. She shuddered. Camilla’s wrath was a terrifying thing to experience. Usually, her stepsister was so motherly and warm, but her anger was enough to chill the world—in this case, quite literally.

After Camilla and Xander’s failed excursion to the Underworld, Camilla had stormed off—leaving an actual storm in her wake. Where she’d gone, Azura wasn’t sure. To search for another entrance to the Underworld, or simply to unleash her fury upon the surrounding landscape. Neither option was ideal, as the first was nearly hopeless, and the second…

Azura shivered again, drawing her cloak more tightly around herself. If this weather kept up, people would be hurt. Crops would never be ready for harvest, and mortals would starve or freeze. Azura could understand Camilla’s anguish, but it was foolish to imagine that unleashing this icy hell upon the mortal world would make Leo return Corrin, if he really had taken her. In the Underworld, he wouldn’t even be affected by this freeze.

Bracing herself against the chill breeze, Azura sighed. Something was amiss for certain. It didn’t add up. She hadn’t even known that Leo had romantic feelings for Corrin until Xander told her about their arrangement—and she certainly didn’t think he’d be mad enough to abduct their sister, especially knowing how much it would infuriate Camilla. There was a piece to this story that she just couldn’t glimpse, no matter how hard she tried. A piece that, once placed, would make everything make sense again.  
Azura hoped she could uncover that piece before Camilla smothered the world in ice.

* * *

_“Xander,_

_As I mentioned in my previous letter, Corrin has arrived safely. However, her arrival has raised new questions. You told me that Corrin was eager to marry me, but she seems entirely oblivious to this arrangement. I’d like to know why you would deceive me in such a way. I hesitate to believe that it was an act of intentional cruelty, because I don’t think of you as that sort of person, but I don’t know why else you would tell me such a lie._

_I’m also curious as to how you and the others are faring aboveground against this mysterious threat. I know that I am bound to the Underworld, but perhaps I can still be of help to you. If you tell me more about the problem, I can research it and advise you on how to handle it._

_Since I don’t know your precise situation, I can’t say if this is advisable or not, but if you’re able, please send food from aboveground for Corrin. Since this wasn’t her choice, I don’t want her to have to eat the food of the Underworld and, as a result, become trapped here forever._

_It would be easier to simply talk about this using the mirror, but when I tried to call you, it wasn’t working. I’ll try to repair the problem from here, but ask Camilla to help on her end, as well, since she knows a bit about magic._

_Also, Corrin asked me to tell you and the rest of the family that she loves you._

_-Leo”_

He cursed under his breath as he skimmed the contents of the letter again. Of course Leo had already caught onto the fact that he had lied about Corrin consenting to the marriage. Worse yet, Leo was already pressing him for more information about the “crisis” aboveground. He gritted his teeth, clenching the pen between his fingers. He had always hated that upstart boy.

Now, he would have to concoct an excuse as to why Xander would possibly tell such a lie to his younger brother. _And_ come up with a reason why he couldn’t share any more information with the little lord of the Underworld.

_This had better be worth it._

* * *

Several days passed in the Underworld, before a day came when Leo’s work ended quickly enough that he was able to take Corrin on a more expansive tour of the Underworld. She stuck close to his side, as if they were bound by thread, as Leo led her out of the palace and into the more distant parts of his territory.

They passed over the entrance to the Fields of Punishment with hardly more than a mention. Leo didn’t want to upset Corrin. Although he did make sure to mention Hans’s fate as they passed. “This is where I sent Hans once his soul finally appeared before me recently. You remember—that monster who started the war.”

A visible shudder ran down Corrin’s body. “Good,” she said quietly, and they carried on with the tour.

Next, they stopped at the edge of the Fields of Asphodel, where the world was brighter than the area surrounding the palace. “This is the place where ordinary mortals go,” Leo explained. “People who haven’t done anything particularly heroic or evil. It’s named because of these.” He nudged a tall, white-flowered plant with the toe of his shoe. The boundless meadow was covered in asphodels, so plentiful that a mortal could probably spend the rest of eternity trying to count them and wind up unsuccessful. What a vapid existence that would be.

“They’re pretty,” said Corrin. “Am I allowed to pick one?”

Leo nodded, and she crouched down at the edge of the meadow to pluck a white flower from the ground. Just like in the garden, she was heedless of the fact that she was getting her knees dirty. _Exactly what you’d expect from the kind of ridiculous woman who likes to trot around barefoot._ Even now, Corrin’s feet were bare. She was wearing one of the outfits from the dresser in her room—a peach-colored dress that highlighted the hue of her eyes and accented her figure better than he’d intended. A faint breeze made her hair sway against the arch of her neck, and Leo gulped. Time to carry on with the tour before Corrin caught him making a fool of himself by staring.

They stopped at the entrance to Elysium next. Corrin’s eyes brightened in the glow coming out of the ornate ivory gates. “This is where the best people go, isn’t it?”

Leo nodded. “The most heroic mortals and the greatest of gods.”

“Wow,” she breathed. A question lingered in her gaze, but she didn’t voice it.

Instead, they fell quiet. Corrin’s hair was swaying again, so white that it was nearly blinding in the light of Elysium, and Leo was rendered breathless. He had never been the greatest appreciator of art, but this instant was a masterpiece, painted in colors as simple as the sky—Corrin, silhouetted against a glow as bright as her soul. Her eyes danced like firelight, and if Leo hadn’t already known that he was in love with her, this moment would have made him realize. He remembered the feeling of her in his arms, her heart drumming against his, and he wanted to feel it again.

With a quiet jolt of alarm, he realized that Corrin was watching him. When he asked what she was looking at—in a voice too raspy to be his own—she simply cocked her head and said, “You look happy.”

“Standing outside Elysium is calming,” he said evenly. “It’s nice.”

“You should come here more often, then,” said Corrin, a smile curling across her lips. “After all, you deserve to be happy.”

Again, Leo was at a loss for breath. He wondered if Corrin would say such a thing if she knew what he’d truly been thinking about. No, certainly not. She would cringe away in disgust the moment her little brother freed his disgraceful feelings from their cage inside his ribs. He was just grateful that he hadn’t made any mention of the marriage—and his elation about the subject—before he’d realized that Corrin knew nothing about it.

Corrin inched closer, peering up into his face. Leo tensed under her scrutiny. “You do, Leo,” she said, sternness creeping into her voice.

He scoffed, trying to conceal the fact that he’d already forgotten what she was talking about.

“You do,” she said again. “Admit it.”

_Admit what?_ Leo’s thoughts had been fixed on the terrifying prospect of admitting something that she _certainly_ didn’t want him to admit. And he was too proud to confess that he’d lost grasp of the flow of their conversation, so he simply crossed his arms and turned his head.

In his peripheral vision, he saw Corrin’s eyes narrow, and he knew he’d made a mistake. “Oh, that’s it, grouchy pants.”

“What? Corrin—”

Corrin lunged at him, her fingers outstretched and wiggling. She hadn’t subjected him to tickle torture since they were children, but Leo hadn’t forgotten. He tried to back away, but she was on him before he could flee. A sharp giggle burst out of his mouth, so shrill that he would have been embarrassed if he hadn’t been so busy protesting through his laughter.

“Corrin, st-stop it!”

Corrin did not stop it. She tickled his sides until he stumbled backwards, tripped over the heel of his own shoe, and toppled onto the grass. She crouched down beside him. “Oh, Leo. Are you okay?”

Trying to regain his breath—and whatever shreds of his composure he had left—Leo nodded. He really shouldn’t have nodded.

“Good,” she said, and she launched herself at him again. Leo landed on his back, tears of laughter blurring his vision. He could barely make out Corrin’s wicked smirk as she hovered above him, tickling him mercilessly.

“D-damn it, Corrin—” She coaxed another giggle out of him, and Leo tried in vain to smack her hands away. “—I’m the lord of the Underworld, not…” He squeaked as she prodded a particularly ticklish spot on his side. Heat pounded through his veins, and he succumbed to uncontrollable laughter. “C-C-Corrin, quit it!”

“How can I?” she said in a taunting singsong. “You’re just so cute!”

He was laughing so hard that her words barely registered. He grasped at her arms, trying to block her from continuing her assault. Finally, he managed to seize both of her hands and pin them to the ground above his head, where she couldn’t tickle him anymore. Their laughter dwindled into silence.

It was only then that awareness seeped into him, and he realized their position. Leo, on his back in the grass, panting but feeling anything but exhausted, with Corrin kneeling over him. She wasn’t as winded as he was—obviously, since _she_ hadn’t been the one being cruelly attacked by tickles—but her chest was heaving, and her hair was a bit unkempt. He was pinning her hands to the grass, and they were summer-warm inside his grip. A dangerous heat trickled into Leo’s cheeks and pooled in the pit of his stomach.

“You—you’re so childish sometimes,” he stammered, releasing Corrin’s hands and nudging her away. He clambered to his feet and busied himself by dusting flecks of grass off his back. “When do you intend to start acting like the adult that you are?”

“You’re the one who was giggling,” said Corrin. She was still wearing that smirk—that impertinent, infuriating… intoxicating smirk.

Leo crossed his arms and gathered his cloak around his body like a shield. He looked away as she stood up. “I was not.”

She wiggled her fingers teasingly. “Want to test that?”

“No!” he exclaimed sharply, stepping backward. He cleared his throat. “I mean… no thanks. You’ve already ruined my tour schedule.”

“You had a…?” Corrin smiled and shook her head. “Of course you did. Well, let’s keep moving, then.”

_A schedule was one hundred-percent necessary,_ Leo reflected as they resumed their tour. _After all, if we take too long returning to the palace, Niles is going to make… certain assumptions… about our activities. And worse, he might tell Odin about those assumptions, and Odin might start compiling a list of names for our children._ He cringed. _I do not want a hypothetical future child named Shadow Maelstrom._

“I’m sorry,” Corrin said, as she noticed the sour look hadn’t faded from Leo’s face. “I just wanted to make you smile.”

He only grunted, because he didn’t want something sappy to slip out of his mouth, and just then, that was a distinct possibility.

* * *

He took Corrin on a walking tour of the Underworld’s rivers next—the Styx, the Acheron, the Cocytus, the Phlegethon… But when they reached the Lethe, the river of forgetfulness, Corrin froze stiff.

“Corrin?” Leo asked. She remained motionless, the whites of her wide eyes visible even in the darkness of the Lethe’s shores. Her mouth was parted, but no words escaped. Leo called her name again and shook her gently by the shoulders. “Deep breaths,” he murmured. “Slowly now.”

“I’m fine,” Corrin said quietly. She shrugged off his hands and stared into the dark waves of the river for another long, silent moment. Finally, she spoke. “I think… I’ve been here before.”

“What?” he asked.

“I can’t remember it. I can’t remember anything before Father took me back to the Northern Fortress,” she said. “But that’s just it—maybe there is a reason why I can’t remember anything from before that moment, even though I was old enough that I should have been able to remember something.”

“You drank from the Lethe,” Leo whispered. He’d meant to voice it as a question.

She nodded, a deep crease between her fair eyebrows. “I think so. I can’t _remember_ coming to this place before, on a conscious level… but somewhere deep down, my body remembers it. It remembers…” Her words cut off with a shudder.

“You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to.” Leo was curious about this sudden revelation and its implications, but the buried memory obviously hurt Corrin. He didn’t want to multiply her pain by forcing it out into the open if she wasn’t ready.

But Corrin shook her head. “I remember… a large hand. My face being held down. And water…” Her eyes squeezed shut. “Flooding into my mouth until I had to swallow, or h-he’d hold me down until I suffocated.”

“Corrin…” His hands fisted at his sides, but he envisioned them tightening around the throat of the mysterious “he” who had made Corrin suffer this way. A thought crept into his head— _Father?_ —but Leo chased it away. He didn’t want to reevaluate the sentence he’d given to Garon, not now.

Sometimes, Leo wished he was heartless like he used to believe, like he still wanted to pretend. Life would be a lot less stressful if he was.

“Leo,” Corrin said quietly after a pause, “can I tell you something that I’ve never told anyone before?”

And with that, Leo’s heart vaulted into his throat and clung there, trying to hammer a hole through his windpipe. “Er… sure.” The word left his mouth amid a faint rush of breath and ill-placed hope.

Corrin stared into the lapping waters of the Lethe, with her hands clasped in front of her. Her hair didn’t sway now. There was no breeze. The air at the shores of the river Lethe was flat and dead as she sucked in a shuddering breath and began. “When Father sent me to Hoshido with the sword Ganglari, and it exploded… in the plaza… and k-killed so many people…” Corrin’s fingers clenched. “Mikoto leaped in front of me, to shield me from being hurt. She died protecting me.”

Leo stood by her side and took this information in. He had heard, of course, about the death of the goddess of prophecy in an explosion at the base of Mount Shirasagi—but he hadn’t known that Mikoto had shielded Corrin from being wounded in the blast. After her return, Corrin had never spoken of it. She’d looked vacant and confused whenever anyone alluded to the event.

“And as she was dying, she said something that I can’t forget,” she whispered, as if speaking to the Lethe itself. “She called me… ‘daughter.’”

Leo swore his heart stopped. “Daughter? But she was the ruler of Hoshido.”

But now that he thought about it, it wasn’t outside the realm of possibility. It would explain why someone might have thought it necessary to wipe Corrin’s memories away in the river Lethe. Why Corrin had spoken with a ghost of an accent when she was a child. Why she had appeared in their lives as if out of the empty air, when Leo had never heard a single mention of Garon having another child before.

Why, during the war, the Hoshidan gods had alluded to Nohr stealing something impossibly precious away from them.

__“Actually,” he whispered, “it makes sense.”_ _

Corrin pressed her lips into a thin line and nodded.

He gazed at her, wondering at how small she looked beside the immensity of the Lethe. And how much smaller she would have been, how young and delicate, when her head had been shoved under the murky waters until she had to drink or drown. “You’ve been keeping this to yourself all this time?” She nodded again. Leo elbowed her in the arm, but softly. “Idiot. Don’t you think the others would have wanted to know if you were hurting like that?”

Corrin stared at him, wide-eyed. She rubbed her arm absently. “Everything happened so quickly after that. I didn’t have much time to think about it. And I didn’t want to bother them….”

“They’re your siblings—by blood or not, it’s still the truth,” he said. “They want you to bother them. Besides, you didn’t seem to care if you bothered _me_ earlier by tickling me.”

That earned a small smile from Corrin. “Don’t think I won’t do it again.”

Leo seized the crook of her arm and steered her away from the shore before she could tickle him again. “Don’t you dare. Do you really want to send one of us plunging into the Lethe?” The thought chilled him more than he wanted to admit. The smile faded from her face, replaced by a deep frown. Her eyes glittered with moisture as she and Leo started the trek back to the palace. He lightened his grip on her arm. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to hold on so tightly.”

“It’s not that.” Corrin inhaled deeply, her gaze boring into Leo’s face. “I just… I couldn’t bear the thought of forgetting you. Any of you. It would kill me.”

“No, it wouldn’t. You wouldn’t even remember us to feel any pain over losing us,” said Leo. He turned his face away to conceal his expression from her. “The drowning part is what would kill you.”

Her lips puckered in a childish scowl. “Leo, I’m serious.”

“I know,” he whispered.

Silence overtook them for a moment, and a faint breeze rustled Corrin’s hair as she walked beside him. Leo realized that he was still holding onto her arm, long after it was necessary, and he quickly clasped his hands behind his back.

She paused mid-step, and Leo had to stop and wait for her. “Xander and Camilla have been dying for me to come to Mount Krakenburg with them.”

Leo didn’t quite follow, but he nodded and listened.

“But everyone describes it as golden and luminous. All of you were born into it, as innocent children, and…” She was staring at the ground, at the black rock beneath her bare feet. “And I just don’t see why I should go there now. After everything.”

“What do you mean?” he asked quietly.

“After our war with Hoshido,” she said, and her fingers were trembling. “Leo, I hurt so many people. How could something like that not leave a stain on my soul?”

Leo wanted to reach for her hand, but he held back. He wasn’t sure he wanted that for the right reason—because she was brave and unbreaking and the opposite of stained, and not because he loved her more than he should have. “We’ve all hurt people,” he said. “I did. Xander and Camilla did, and they’re still—”

“But none of you fought against their own flesh and blood. Against… against your siblings and the memory of the mother who died for you.” Corrin’s eyes were dry, but that didn’t render them any less haunted. “How many times?”

“What?”

“How many times did we meet the gods of Hoshido on the battlefield?” Corrin ran her hands through the shortened length of her hair, her fingers snagging in a tangle left by the breeze. “How many times could I have _killed_ them—not understanding that they were my flesh and blood?”

“I didn’t realize that I should have been keeping count,” he said, quirking an eyebrow.

But she didn’t smile. “I’m an awful sister.”

Leo sighed. “No. You aren’t. Listen, Corrin—after all of this is over and you can return to the world aboveground, you can find them and make up for the time you’ve lost.” The words pained him, as did the thought of allowing Corrin to wander into the hands of the same gods who had slaughtered their father and tried to kill them as well, but Leo said it anyway. “I’m sure they would just love catching up on years of tickle fights.”

Corrin stepped forward until she was by Leo’s side again. Her eyes brightened as they started walking again. “You know what? I think I will do that. Thank you, Leo.”

She smiled, and Leo couldn’t help but smile back. He didn’t say anything, for fear of saying something maudlin. He remembered Corrin’s apologetic expression, her sheepish _“I just wanted to make you smile.”_

_Hmph._ In truth, she always made him smile. Like the greatest fool of all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Corrin engaging in tickle fights is basically canon, judging by one of Elise's lines when she visits your quarters. And we know from Elise and Camilla's supports that Elise also tickle-attacks Camilla, so I've headcanoned that the sisters had a lot of tickle fights with Corrin when they visited the Northern Fortress. And it's safe to assume they probably dragged Leo into it more often than he'd like (though we all know the lil' nerd enjoyed the attention). And thus, the scene in this chapter happened (and again, we all know the less-little-now nerd enjoyed the attention *cough cough*).
> 
> Anyway, I wanted to give you guys another chapter before my classes start back tomorrow. (Stupid college. You don't even wanna know how much my textbooks cost... *shudder*) I'll do my best to keep updating as often as you're used to, which shouldn't be hard since I already have a rough draft of the rest of the story finished, but just in case I can't, you'll know why. Forget #blameTakumi, blame college instead.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and as always, thanks for reading! I'm so grateful for the reception you've given this fic so far. *hugs all of you, unless you aren't comfortable with hugs, at which point I shall smile at you from a respectful distance*


	9. All Dreams Come to an End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Midnight confessions keep on blurring the line." -from "State of Seduction" by Digital Daggers

That night, Corrin couldn’t fall asleep. Her mind reeled with questions about the family in Hoshido that she’d unwittingly left behind. Did they know who she was? Had they known when they had faced each other on the battlefield? Once Corrin left the Underworld, how might they react if she showed up at their palace on Mount Shirasagi? Would it be as golden and magnificent as the way Mount Krakenburg was described, so pure that Corrin shouldn’t…?

She sighed into her pillow, her breath making the fabric hot and damp against her face. _Shut up and let me sleep, brain._ She tried to focus on something simple, like the sound of her breathing. It was slow, like the lap of waves against the shoreline. But that only made her think of the river Lethe and her conversation with Leo about her parentage, and that set her mind racing all over again.

The faint creak of a door made Corrin turn over in bed, her eyelids fluttering open. She detected the sound of soft, shuffling footsteps in the corridor, and she sighed again as she rolled out of bed. _Well, it’s not like I was getting any rest, anyway._ She gathered her blanket around her shoulders, not ready to let go of its warmth just yet, and she cracked open her bedroom door to investigate.

Leo turned at the sound of her door. He stood in the center of the corridor, his hair mussed—sans headband, for once—and his eyes bleary. He wore a thin black shirt and loose pants, like the kind he used to wear to bed on the rare occasion that Corrin’s siblings were allowed to sleep over in the Northern Fortress. “Corrin?” His voice was thick with sleep. “Why are you awake?”

“I could ask you the same question. Is everything okay?”

Leo raked his fingers through his hair, trying to smooth it down. It didn’t work. It looked like one side of it had been mashed against his pillow, and he’d tossed and turned until his hair was uncharacteristically tangled.

“Leo?” Corrin prompted.

He startled, as if he’d forgotten she was there. “Everything is fine. I just fell asleep at my desk.”

She smiled at the mental image: Leo, slumped over a broad desk in his chambers, asleep on top of one of his hefty hardbacks. Probably snoring or drooling on the pages, although he’d never admit to such behavior.

Leo crossed his arms. “What’s so funny? It’s true.”

“I believe you.” Corrin stopped, the smile slipping off her face. “But if you fell asleep, what are you doing up? Did Xander finally write back?”

“He did. But,” he said quickly, before Corrin’s hopes could rise too high, “he wasn’t able to explain anything about the situation. He was worried that sensitive information might fall into the wrong hands.” He gritted his fists at his sides. “Ugh, if only Krakenburg’s mirror wasn’t malfunctioning.”

“I’m sorry,” she said. “Is there anything you can do on your end to fix it?”

He shook his head, his eyelids drooping. “I’ve tried. It won’t work.”

“Then shouldn’t you be asleep?” Corrin pressed.

He shrugged. “After a lot of thought, I decided that the waking world was currently a more pleasant climate than the one inside my head.”

“So… you had a nightmare?”

Leo averted his eyes to the wall.

Something caved inside Corrin’s chest, releasing a flood of warmth into her bloodstream. She strode across the hallway until she reached Leo and wrapped him in a hug. He stiffened in her embrace, but he didn’t squirm away. She only realized once she was hugging him like this, when they were both standing upright, that he’d surpassed her in height.

“Leo.” She kept her voice low for fear of disturbing Leo’s retainers, even though their rooms weren’t especially close. “Since when are you taller than me?”

“I don’t know,” he muttered. “I noticed it during the war.”

“Hmm.” She nuzzled her cheek into the warm crook between his neck and shoulder and felt him shudder. “Do you want to talk about your dream, or would you rather not?”

“It wasn’t important,” he said against her hair. “Just memories warped by the fog of sleep.”

Corrin understood immediately. _He had a nightmare like yours._ Battlefields littered with broken bodies, blood caking under her fingernails, standing rooted and helpless as swords and shrapnel pierced the hearts of everyone she loved… She wondered if Leo had suffered as much as she had after the war, or even worse. After all, he had been the one who was most ruthless in striking down their opposition. When Corrin’s heart had caused her to waver and her other siblings might have been swayed into ill-advised mercy by her pleas, Leo had remained rigid.

Sometimes, back then, Corrin had resented him for it. Never hated him, but definitely resented him. Once—near the end, when she was teetering on the edge of shattering—she’d accused him of being heartless. She’d slung the word at him like a blast from a Fire tome. Leo had simply scoffed at her for yelling, before dismissing himself from her presence. But later, she had found him sitting at his desk in front of a book on tactics, his shoulders trembling so hard that he hadn’t been able to focus on any of it. His eyes were bone-dry and bloodshot.

_“I have to do the necessary things that the rest of you are too soft to do,”_ he’d told her without meeting her eyes. _“Don’t ever assume that means I like it.”_

His expression back then—the frown lines wrinkling his face, and the eyes far too old for his age—lingered in Corrin’s mind even now. She hugged Leo tighter. “I’m sorry,” she said. She adjusted her blanket so its warmth wrapped around his shoulders, as well. “It’s over now.”

“I know that,” he said. His tone was brusque, but coupled with his tousled hair and sleepy eyes, it only made him seem like a petulant child.

Corrin grinned into his shoulder. “Grouchy pants.”

Leo grumbled something into her hair, his breath warm against her scalp. Corrin caught the words “inconsiderate,” “eight hours of sleep,” and “pants can’t even _be_ grouchy.”

She giggled. “I’d forgotten that sleepy Leo was so much fun. I’ll have to interrupt your full eight hours more often.”

“Please don’t,” he said. Corrin was abruptly conscious of the drum of his heartbeat in the side of his neck. It was beating faster than she’d expected. “And don’t talk about me like I’m a small child. I’m an adult man, and a god at that.”

That was true. Corrin pulled her face away from Leo’s neck and really _looked_ at him, as she hadn't looked in years. He was still slender, but his height was that of a grown man. His features were still deceptively delicate, but his face had long ago lost the roundness of childhood. And his voice—when had it gotten so deep?

“Hmm,” she said softly, a melancholy pang piercing her chest. “I guess you are.”

Silence. Corrin met Leo’s eyes, only to find that he was already staring at her. He quickly looked away, like he’d been caught doing something shameful. She thought about seeing him hunched over his desk and shaking, and the kindness that he tried to conceal behind a wall of stone as cold as their father had been. She thought about something that he’d told her back when he tutored her in strategy: _“The strong are always alone because no one thinks they need any help. But that's not true at all. There have been many times when I wished... that I had someone at my side, someone to help guide me through tough situations.”_ But he’d been a realm away from the rest of his family after the war’s end, and…

And the question crept out of her mouth. “Leo… When you first came down here, did you have to judge Father?”

Leo’s eyes widened, snapping back to her face. His mouth gaped open for a moment before he answered, in a voice that was barely audible. “Yes.”

She exhaled quietly, nervous to ask the question for fear of Leo’s response. “And… where did you send him?”

He shook his head. “You’re going to think I’m foolish.”

That wasn’t what Corrin expected to hear. She had been expecting _“the Fields of Punishment,”_ firm and clear and without hesitation. “I could never think that about you, Leo. I promise.”

“Then…” His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. “I sent him to Elysium.”

Suddenly, Corrin was reevaluating her promise. “What?”

“When I judge people,” Leo said, “I can see the deeds they’ve done—both good and evil. With most, I peruse the list quickly, but with Father…” A humorless smile flickered across his lips. “My curiosity got the best of me. I spent a long time sifting through the details of his life. Trying to figure out who Father really was. And why he changed from the man that I remember.”

In that moment, Leo’s face looked vulnerable, but not exactly young. His eyes weren’t those of a boy who craved a parent’s love, but those of a wise man who already understood why he hadn’t had it. If Corrin’s arms hadn’t already been around Leo’s shoulders, she would have rushed to embrace him. As it was, she clung to him because he was warm, and she was afraid.

“What did you see?” Corrin whispered. _What did you see that could prompt you to send a cruel man like Father to a bright place like Elysium?_

Leo sighed, and judging by his expression, he’d never dared to speak these words out loud before. He hardly dared to speak them in an audible tone now. “Corrin… Father was possessed.”

“ _What?_ ” The word came out too loud, startling her and Leo both. She dropped her voice. “How? By who?”

He shook his head, a furrow forming between his brows. “I couldn’t tell. I could only see Father’s memories, not those of whatever took over his mind. And in his memories… He fought against it, Corrin. He fought as hard as he could, for longer than many people would have. He tried to keep it from corrupting him and hurting the ones he loved. Even once it fully took him over—whenever he had rare, fleeting flashes of cognizance, he struggled against it. Until his last moments, he was flooded with shame over what he’d become.”

Corrin sucked in a shuddery breath—struggling to make sense of this. She had never known the “real” Garon, so it was harder for her to swallow than it must have been for Leo. All she could remember was the man who had confined her to the Northern Fortress for most of her life, who had wanted her executed for a simple act of mercy, whose orders left pain trailing along behind her with every step.

“The real Father, who he truly was, wasn’t a wicked person,” said Leo. “He battled for years against something that kept him imprisoned within his own mind. Call me sentimental if you’d like… but I couldn’t damn him to the Fields of Punishment for actions that he never wanted to take.”

She shook her head. “Leo, if Elysium is the place for heroes and Father—the real Father that you knew—fought heroically, then… maybe he deserved to go there.” The words felt odd leaving her lips, and she couldn’t deny that the thought shook her after the actions of the Garon she’d known, but she could _see_ a burden lifting from Leo’s shoulders. “I think you made the right choice,” she continued. “That’s not being too sentimental. Actually, you were being pretty logical.”

He blinked at her. “Really?”

“Really,” said Corrin. “You judged Garon for Garon—not for the things that his puppetmaster made him do to hurt you or anyone else.” She gave him a small smile. “You’re a really kind person, Leo.”

Leo’s eyes widened again, his pupils large in the dark. “Corrin…” Her name left his lips in a sigh—a sound that rang almost like a confession, although a confession of what, she couldn’t determine.

Slowly, she evaluated their current situation: the way they stood alone and whispering in the midnight corridor. The way her arms still hung around Leo’s shoulders, long after the last ghosts of his nightmares must have faded. The thinness of his shirt and the length of her own dark nightgown, its hem brushing against her thighs. The intimate nearness of her face and Leo’s, which she hadn’t even thought about before.

Corrin wasn’t sure whether to flush red or chuckle. _This would look really scandalous, if we weren’t brother and sister._ And she realized two fundamental truths in the same startling moment, things she had known yet never realized: it still looked really scandalous. And if Corrin was Mikoto and Sumeragi’s daughter, she and Leo weren’t truly brother and sister.

He was obviously thinking along similar lines. “We shouldn’t be standing here like this.” He reached for her arms in order to free himself from her embrace.

The second Leo’s fingers touched her skin, a jolt ran down her back. It wasn’t a shiver. At least, it wasn’t a cold shiver. The sensation was warm and new and intense—heat and thrill cascading down the length of her spine. Corrin recoiled like she’d been slapped. _What was that?_

“Get some sleep,” Leo said brusquely. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

He adjusted her blanket around her shoulders—an absent gesture, but she felt it magnified tenfold. Her stomach flipped. A blazing spark traveling down her back, into her legs, making them quiver like her bones had melted. As she mumbled “goodnight” to Leo and watched him disappear into his room, she puzzled over what that feeling could possibly mean.

Corrin wasn’t a fool, and she had definitely traveled through the treacherous terrain of puberty. It wasn’t as if she’d never had any interesting dreams about vague, alluring figures as she was growing up in the isolation of the Northern Fortress, or stayed up too late and gotten far too excited for her own good over a particularly well-written scene in a romance novel.

But this was different. It _had_ to be different—a similar-feeling yet completely different malady that she was only mistaking for a rush of attraction. Because this was Leo. She’d known him since they were children. He’d seen her at her worst—snot-nosed, muddy-kneed, or bleary-eyed and drooling—and she had seen him in similar situations. They had fought together on a hundred fields of battle. She had seen him lying shirtless on a cot in Elise’s infirmary, after he’d taken a horrible blow meant for Corrin, and she’d never felt anything like _this_ toward him before.

He was her younger brother—by blood or not—and it was supposed to be her duty to protect him. This was the polar opposite of protecting him. She had to be mistaken. She was just tired. She needed to lie down.

Lying down didn’t help. At last, Corrin’s questions about her Hoshidan family were put to rest—but the flurry of thoughts that replaced them were just as heavy. Leo’s innocent touch sending fire down her back. Leo’s sudden mature appearance, sneaking up on her so unfairly. Leo’s confession about where he’d sent their father, and how difficult a choice it must have been for someone who had still been so young then—a choice that, although probably right, must have seared his lips as the word “Elysium” left his mouth—Leo, who had never been heartless.

When morning came, Corrin hadn’t slept. She ate another of the roses that she’d brought to the Underworld from the realm above, and she prayed that the goddess of love had made a mistake.

Only, she was the goddess of love. And she was very afraid that she had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This, along with the last chapter, has been one of my favorites to write. And now you know why. So much fun stuff this chapter. ...And before anyone asks, I'm not going to get into any spoilers about who possessed Garon in this fic. Though it doesn't follow any route of the game stringently, it's closest to Conquest. I'm not planning on _draggin'_ out any spoilers here. (The only thing I'm dragging out is the unresolved tension. *wink, nudge* Also, I'm ace as heck so my only real understanding of physical attraction comes from reading too much, sooo... yikes. I love writing sexual tension way more than I should considering I could be doing it all wrong with absolutely no idea.)
> 
> Speaking of "wink, nudge," Corrin's interest in romance novels is actually canon. See also: her supports with Caeldori. I was already planning on putting that line in their before I unlocked said supports, because it was a headcanon of mine, but it was cool to see that it was actual canon and my interpretations of characters aren't always dead wrong, haha.
> 
> Side note: I'm posting this between classes. It's not going to be a hard semester, compared to some I've had in the past few years, and this may actually end up being my last semester of college (I think I may finally have enough credits to escape this place in December if I'm lucky), but still, in case updates are slightly less frequent, assume I'm doing homework... or procrastinating on doing homework by replaying Fates, more likely. I'm playing Birthright on Lunatic mode at the moment, and if I can actually beat that, I'll try Conquest and Revelation on the same mode. (And yet I'll never bring myself to play anything on Classic mode because I'm still a filthy casual.)
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter even half as much as I enjoyed writing it! :)


	10. Dawn Breaks Through

Corrin had thought she was peering into the throne room during Leo’s lunch break, but apparently, the Underworld had muddled her sense of time. Leo sat on his throne with his legs crossed at the knees, delivering judgment on a figure so hazy that Corrin could hardly perceive them at all.

“Asphodel.”

The figure flickered and sprang to their feet. “Oh, thank you, milord!” They zipped past Corrin, out of the throne room, before she could catch even a fleeting glimpse of their features.

Leo raised his eyebrows as his gaze settled on her face. He looked imposing, reclining in his high-backed throne, but it wasn’t an entirely bad sort of imposing. He looked regal, proud. His blond hair resembled a halo against the dark cushions behind him. It was neatly combed, nothing like its messy state last night, and the ends framed the angles of his face quite nicely.

“Corrin, do you need something?”

Heat flooded her face. She’d been staring. It was difficult to convince herself that she didn’t have less-than-platonic feelings for Leo when she caught herself gaping like that at how handsome he looked. _I’d imagine that I was going to hell for this, except I’m already here._

“I’m in the middle of work, you know….”

“I just wanted to let you know that I’m going out.” She inhaled, clasping her hands behind her back. “I’m going to visit Lady Mikoto. Where can I find her?”

Leo pressed his lips together and thought for a moment. “She was judged before I became the ruler here. But I remember where Father sent her—Elysium.”

Corrin released the breath she’d been holding. “Elysium,” she echoed. “Do you know what part of Elysium?”

“She shouldn’t be difficult to find,” said Leo. He drummed his fingers against his throne’s gnarled armrests. “Just concentrate on her as you step into Elysium, and it should lead you directly to her.”

She nodded and turned to leave the throne room behind. “Thank you. I’m sorry for bothering you while you’re working.”

“Good luck,” Leo called after her. His voice refracted off the high walls before the door clicked shut between them.

* * *

Corrin stood before the gates of Elysium, her fingers twisted in the fabric of her skirt. She’d chosen an ivory garment from her dresser today—the same color as the ornately carved gates, and the color that Mikoto had worn when Corrin met her. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and steeled her nerve, concentrating on her fleeting memories of her mother as she pushed open the gates and stepped into Elysium.

Mikoto’s flowing hair, as black as ink, and the gentleness of her eyes as she smiled. The warm way she’d welcomed a Nohrian goddess into her domain, eager for a peace that had been shattered before it could even begin. Mikoto’s blood, staining her white gown scarlet as she collapsed into Corrin’s arms. Blood that Corrin had struggled to scrub out of the crescents of her fingernails, for days after her hands were clean. Mikoto’s fading voice, whispering words that still rang in Corrin’s ears. _“I’m… so glad you’re safe… my daughter.”_

When Corrin opened her eyes, she stood beside the shores of a brilliant blue sea, in a world so radiant that she couldn’t believe it was part of the Underworld. Pink sand yielded beneath her bare feet, and in the distance, she glimpsed a field of yellow flowers. Instinctively, she strode toward it, leaving the shore behind.

When she reached the field, Corrin realized that she wasn’t alone. A familiar figure stood in the center of the blazing gold flowers, her long black hair flowing in the warmth of the breeze. “Lady Mi…” Corrin started, then stopped. “M-Mother?”

Mikoto’s eyes were luminous as they took in Corrin, from head to toe and back again. She smiled. “My sweet child… You’ve grown so much.”

Corrin glanced down at herself. She didn’t think she’d grown especially much since Mikoto had last seen her—the only real differences were that she’d cut her hair shorter and gained some pale scars from the war—but the woman was the goddess of prophecy, so maybe she could see something that Corrin couldn’t.

“How did you get here?” Mikoto asked. “You’re still living.”

“I’m visiting my brother, the lord of the Underworld.” She hesitated. “My, um, adoptive brother. Leo—the god of wisdom.”

Mikoto nodded. Something sparked in her eyes—obvious but unintelligible—and Corrin hoped she hadn’t offended her by mentioning her Nohrian family.

“I’ve been wanting to talk to you,” she said, in the clearest voice she could summon. “Before, you… You called me your daughter. Is that true?”

“It is,” said Mikoto. Corrin realized that she was wearing the same ivory gown that she’d worn when she died, only the blood had been washed away. Mikoto looked resplendent in the white light, every inch a goddess, but her voice was dove-soft as she spoke. “You were born Kamui, and raised as a goddess of Hoshido.”

“Kamui,” Corrin echoed. The name tasted strange on her tongue, but it almost felt… familiar. Which would make sense, as it was the name she had been born with.

“That’s right. My Kamui.” Mikoto smiled, but the expression soon shifted into a frown. “When you were taken from us, my children were distraught. They feared that they would never see you again. Even I was afraid that you were lost to us forever.”

Her words rang with motherly affection, and it made Corrin feel odd. Here was this woman who gazed at her with such warmth, and Corrin couldn’t remember her at all, other than their brief meeting before the war. She felt grateful toward Mikoto for rescuing her, and she felt that she _should_ have been able to return her affection because she was Mikoto’s child… But there was a blank space in Corrin’s mind where that emotion should have been, where it used to be.

“I’m sorry,” she began. “I drank from the Lethe, and I forgot everything. I wish I remembered you. I’m so sorry—”

“Don’t be,” said her mother. “It’s not your fault.” The breeze rustled her hair and her gown. “When you came back to me, I knew you immediately, but I could tell that you did not remember me. I looked into the future, trying to locate a moment when you would remember… and I saw.”

She didn’t finish the statement, but her eyes clouded, and Corrin knew. _She saw her death._ She shuddered, remembering shrapnel and blood and her throat raw from screaming. How awful it would be—to peer into the future in search of a time when you and your child could truly be a family again, and to see your own demise instead.

“I’m sorry,” Corrin said again.

And Mikoto repeated, “Don’t be. I saw your future, what a wonderful woman you would become. The kind of person worth sacrificing for. And I’m not only saying that because I’m your mother.”

After a speech like that, Corrin should have been crying. At the very least, her tear ducts should have prickled with pain. But her eyes were dry as she watched Mikoto’s face, searching for shards of the memory that she’d lost. “Is there any way I can get my memories back? Some kind of… reverse-Lethe that I can drink from, that will restore what I forgot?”

Mikoto shook her head sadly. “I’m sorry, Kamui. Once they’re gone, they are gone forever.”

Corrin’s shoulders sagged. She hadn’t expected anything else, but she had hoped. Even after so many years, so many disappointments, she had always managed to cling to hope. Even when it was foolish.

Mikoto stepped forward, brushing a stray spiral of hair out of Corrin’s face and tucking it neatly behind her ear. “Don’t worry. Those early memories might be lost, but we have plenty of time to make new ones.”

“But…” Corrin blinked, sure that her confusion was apparent on her face. “I don’t live in the Underworld. I’m just here visiting Leo for a little while. I won’t be able to come to Elysium and see you all the time.”

The idea pained her more than she’d expected. Not only the thought of leaving behind the parent that she’d never gotten a chance to know and bond with, but the thought of leaving Leo behind in the Underworld—where he was trapped, like she had been in the Northern Fortress. His realm was dark and grim, but it was also full of beautiful places, like Elysium and Asphodel. And Corrin wasn’t so afraid here anymore, now that the Underworld wasn’t such a mystery.

Mikoto caressed Corrin’s shoulder, as if she’d detected her daughter’s thoughts. She didn’t speak, but her hand was as warm as the breeze, and Corrin leaned into it, as if her body remembered her mother’s touch even though her brain couldn’t.

“Mother,” she said tentatively. “You said that you saw my future, back then. What… What did you see?”

“As I told you—a wonderful woman. Strong and brave, with a beautiful heart.”

_Now_ , Corrin’s eyes prickled. “You didn’t see the war then, did you?” Surely her mother wouldn’t say such a thing if she had. If she’d seen how Corrin would side with Nohr instead of her blood family, and how the conflict would chip away at her skin and blacken her soul.

But Mikoto shook her head. “No, Kamui, I saw it. I saw how you fought for the path you believed in. How you spared Ryoma, Hinoka, Takumi, and Sakura, even when you had the chance to kill them. How you threw yourself between your loved ones and danger over and over, even when it could have been the end of you. Don’t think that, just because you didn’t choose the path that I might have preferred, it means that I could ever love you any less.”

A hot tear trickled down Corrin’s cheek, and Mikoto brushed it away with her thumb.

“I know how hard it was for you—fighting such a long and agonizing battle. Choosing to remain with Leo and the rest of your Nohrian family, even as Garon’s deeds shook you to the core.” Mikoto pursed her lips. “I saw everything. And my only sadness is that I wasn’t there to help you bear it.”

Corrin wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her dress. “It’s okay. I wouldn’t have lived long enough to bear it at all, if it wasn’t for you.” She hesitated, running over Mikoto’s words in her mind. “Did you see anything else about my future? After the war?”

Her mother smiled knowingly. “I’m sorry, but I’m not going to give away everything. Your future will be a lot more exciting if you don’t know what’s coming.”

The breeze made blades of grass tickle the sides of Corrin’s feet, and that only made her think of Leo—how hard he’d laughed outside the gates of Elysium, only to freeze as she stopped tickling him and he tried to regain his composure after she’d practically tackled him onto the ground. Leo, who had pushed aside his feelings of resentment toward her for stealing Xander and Camilla’s attention, and had tutored her, supported her, and saved her during the war. Leo, who had sent his father to Elysium even though Garon’s harshness had left invisible marks all over his son.

Leo—witty, brave, loving Leo—who was willing to sacrifice his soul again and again, in the hope that his family wouldn’t have to.

Certainty swept over Corrin in a wave, both quiet and loud, gentle and earth-shaking all at once. _Of course I love him._ Even if it wasn’t right, even if she was terrible for thinking of her supposed brother in this light—she still loved him, because how could she not?

“I’m… really confused right now,” Corrin admitted. It took her a moment to realize she’d spoken aloud. Her voice was so small that the wind nearly swallowed it. “I can’t stop thinking about something… that I’m not even supposed to want. That I’m an idiot for wanting.” She couldn’t wrap her mouth around the words. Even though Mikoto’s smile was calm and not remotely judgmental, guilt would crush Corrin’s lungs if she spoke it. “And even if I could have it—everything would still be difficult.”

_Even if Leo could ever want someone like me—someone who isn’t half as brilliant and level-headed as he is—I’d still have to bind myself to the Underworld in order to stay with him. I would have to give up my travels with Elise, and the rare sunny days in Nohr, and any hope of settling into Mount Krakenburg with the rest of my family._ Corrin’s heart swelled with affection for Leo—as a sibling, and now, as something more—but was that enough to make her confine herself to a dreary land all over again?

She became aware of Mikoto’s warm hand, still resting on her shoulder. “Kamui,” she said gently. “When you were young and you lived on Mount Shirasagi with us, you weren’t known as the goddess of love. You were born the goddess of choice.”

Corrin cocked her head. _The goddess of… choice?_

“It’s a long story, and one that I’ll wait until you’re older to tell you. But for now, remember this—you trusted your heart before. And its decision wasn’t wrong, was it?”

Corrin thought back to the war. How much she and her loved ones had suffered and bled… but how they had fought side by side in pursuit of a brighter future. She shook her head. “No,” she said. “It was hard, but I won’t regret it.”

Mikoto leaned forward and clasped Corrin’s hands. “Good. Don’t forget that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short author's note this time, because I haven't slept in almost 20 hours and counting, and I figure I'd be pretty incoherent if I tried. (And I still have 6 hours before I can go back home and sleep, ick.) But I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Seriously, in case it isn't obvious by now, I love quiet realizations of feelings. They're the best.
> 
> Also, it was nice to finally get to reveal the kind of goddess that Corrin originally was in Hoshido. Don't get me wrong, the goddess of love isn't ill-fitting for her, but the goddess of choice is still a superior title for her, in my opinion. And yes, the "long story" Mikoto references probably involves Revelation spoilers, and therefore won't be expounded on. Sorry, my lovely readers! Corrin's already dealing with enough inner turmoil as it is. :)


	11. Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Odin says a lot of words. But what else is new?

_“Trust in my heart,” huh?_ Corrin sighed. That was easy for Mikoto to say—as the goddess of prophecy, her heart had probably always known the right path to take. But Corrin’s heart tugged her in a dozen different directions. The sun and the sky and the earth above. The sensation of warm grass beneath her feet as she traveled the mortal lands with Elise. The mysterious Mount Krakenburg, where Xander, Camilla, and now Azura lived in the luxury afforded to gods. And Leo, deep below, on his throne in the Underworld, with circles beneath his eyes and warmth buried in his heart. And her Hoshidan brothers and sisters, a realm and a country away. And now, even Mikoto, dwelling among the crystalline waters and gold blooms of Elysium.

Corrin’s stomach grumbled, and she rose from her seat on her bed. _And food. My heart’s tugging me toward food, as well._

She selected a red rose and started toward the great hall. Leo was still busy with his work, but she figured that Odin or Niles might be found taking their meal at this time of afternoon. Since Leo’s duties occupied so much of his time, Corrin had found herself spending time with his retainers, when she wasn’t reading or wandering the brighter parts of the Underworld. Niles and Odin could both be strange sometimes, but Corrin liked them. They made her laugh, and it was obvious that they cared about Leo a lot. They and Corrin had become surprisingly close, considering that their first post-war meeting had involved kidnapping.

Both of Leo’s retainers were seated at the long table when Corrin entered the great hall. She sat down at the head of the table and started munching on her rose. The scarlet petals were rich and sweet, the taste lingering on her tongue long after she swallowed.

“You have to be getting tired of eating nothing but those all of the time,” said Niles. “Don’t you want something more savory?”

“How many days’ worth do you have left?” Odin asked.

“I don’t know,” said Corrin, plucking off another rose petal and twisting it between her fingertips. “I’m trying to make them last as long as I can.”

“It’s a shame that you aren’t going to stay here,” Odin said, surprisingly quiet. “After Lord Xander came and conferred with Lord Leo, we believed that we were going to get another chosen guardian for our realm—and that Lord Leo was finally going to partake in the companionship he has desired for years.”

Somehow, the dark mage’s quietness made him seem small, even though he was far taller than Corrin. She smiled at him over the table. “Don’t worry, Odin. I know how lonely Leo has been, and I’m going to make an effort to visit him as often as I can once I return to Nohr.”

Odin frowned. “That’s not exactly what I meant.”

“Then you’ll have to speak more clearly,” said Niles. “Believe it or not, people have trouble understanding your fancy talk.”

Before Odin could clarify, the doors to the great hall swung open, and Leo stepped into the room, his cloak trailing behind him. He stopped still as he noticed where Corrin was seated: right at the head of the table. “You’re in my spot,” he said quietly.

“What?” Corrin asked, widening her eyes in an all-too-innocent expression.

“You’re sitting in my spot,” Leo said, a bit more loudly.

“What was that, milord?” Niles called. “We couldn’t hear you.” Odin pressed a hand to his mouth to stifle a giggle.

Leo’s eyes narrowed into slits. “Now all three of you are ganging up on me?” He strode up to the table, looming over Corrin and crossing his arms expectantly.

She grinned up at him. “Do you need something, Leo?”

“Move.”

“No thanks,” Corrin said lightly. “This seat is really comfortable, and it’s already warmed up. I don’t want to move now.”

Leo scoffed. “You know, I seem to remember you being rather ticklish.”

Odin had both hands pressed over his mouth now, but he couldn’t contain his giggles any longer.

She feigned a gasp. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Don’t think I won’t,” said Leo.

Corrin _did_ think he wouldn’t. His tone was threatening, but his arms were still crossed, curled against his body. He probably feared how she would retaliate if he did tickle her, since she seemed to remember that he was far more sensitive than she was. She wriggled her fingers at him in a taunt. “Bring it on, little brother.”

Niles murmured something that sounded suspiciously like the word “kinky,” before Leo shot him a glare so cutting that it could have silenced a military mess hall in a quarter of a second.

“Never mind. I don’t have time for this kind of idiotic childishness,” said Leo. He turned on his heels and stalked out of the great hall, his footsteps nearly drowned out by the sound of Odin’s laughter.

“Leo, wait!” Corrin called out. She was trying for a pleading tone, but it was hard to hold back the giggles bubbling up in her throat. “Come back! I-I’m really sorry!”

As the doors slammed shut in Leo’s wake, Niles raised an eyebrow and shook his head, smiling. “I’m sorry for Lord Leo’s actions, milady. He tries to overcompensate, you know.”  
Corrin’s laughter trailed off, and heat sunk into her cheeks.

“Ooh, Lady Corrin, does someone have her mind in the gutter?” Niles sang. He winked—or at least, he blinked his visible eye in a way that, coupled with his crooked smile, was clearly meant to signify a wink. “That isn’t actually what I meant. Unfortunately, I’m not privy to that sort of information about Lord Leo. I was just talking about the fact that his mother was a mortal.”

“Oh,” said Corrin. She’d heard this information once or twice before—in brief allusions by Camilla or Xander—but she hadn’t thought much about it before. She knew that all of Garon’s children had been birthed by different women, but was Leo’s mother the only one who was mortal? That would definitely explain why he was always so eager to prove himself.

“Even so, she must have been a chosen one,” Odin said, “to be the object of the dark god’s affections. And that makes Lord Leo a chosen one, too!”

Niles chuckled fondly. “Of course he is, Odin. Without a doubt.”

Corrin remembered what Odin had been talking about before Leo popped into the great hall—about his hopes that Corrin would become another “chosen guardian” of the Underworld, and that she could be a companion for Leo. “Hey, Odin? You were saying something a minute ago, about Leo wanting companionship for years. But you said that I’d misunderstood what you meant, so…” She smiled uncertainly. “Do you want to explain that?”

Niles shot him a warning look across the table, but Odin didn’t notice. “I told you when we brought you here that it was for the union of your souls! You and Lord Leo, binding your souls and your lives together for eternity in the holiest and mightiest of matrimonies!”

Corrin blinked, her mouth falling open. She didn’t follow a fair bit of what Odin said, but she knew what matrimony was… and she just couldn’t believe it. _They brought me here to… to marry Leo? No way._

She turned to Niles. “Is this one of Odin’s… weird Odin moments?”

Odin pouted. “Lady Corrin, that’s unfair! I am Odin Dark, the chosen scion of—”

“I’m afraid not,” Niles interjected. “I’m sorry that you’re learning about it this way, but…” He laced his hands on the table. “That’s why we really brought you here in the first place. To be Lord Leo’s bride.”

“What? B-bride?” Corrin spluttered. The world felt hazy and cold, far removed from reality. “Leo’s? But… But I’m his sister!”

“And he has a sister complex the size of…” Niles trailed off mid-mutter. “Never mind.”

“He does?” asked Odin. “You never mentioned it before.”

“There are some boundaries that I won’t cross. Lord Leo’s reaction would be something that even I wouldn’t enjoy.”

Corrin was silent. Her shock was slowly fading away—numbness turning into prickling awareness, like the feeling of a limb waking up after she’d sat on it for too long while engrossed in a novel in the library. And when the shock dissipated, anger speared into its place.

“S-so… you _abducted_ me in order to make me marry him?” she exclaimed. “Without even asking me what I thought about it?” _Leo wouldn’t…_ That didn’t make sense. But she was too stunned to think about it clearly. “What the hell? What kind of logic is that?”

Odin gaped at her, no longer grinning. Niles’s muscles were rigid as he raised an arm for silence and said, “Easy. There’s a story behind it.”

Of… Of course there was. Corrin tried to relax and regulate her breathing as Niles told her what really occurred.

“There was some huge misunderstanding between Lord Leo and Lord Xander—honestly, we still aren’t sure exactly what happened—and milord was given the impression that you had happily accepted his proposal.”

“Proposal?” Corrin’s mouth was dry, and her face was hot. “But he never proposed to me…?”

“Lord Xander was supposed to do it in his stead,” Odin said. “Because Lord Leo was so occupied with his duties as the right hand of death.”

“Also because he was scared shitless,” Niles added brightly. His face grew somber. “He genuinely believed that he had your consent to bring you here. Otherwise, he never would have asked us to fetch you.”

Corrin nodded mutely. That sounded a lot more like the Leo that she knew. The “wouldn’t kidnap her without her permission” part, not the “scared” part. Although the thought of Leo getting flustered over the idea of confessing to her was quite adorable…

“He realized almost immediately that you didn’t know anything about the marriage,” said Niles. “He would have released you right away, if not for the disturbance aboveground.”  
“Don’t be angry with Lord Leo,” Odin said. “He didn’t say anything about this because he didn’t want to upset you.”

Corrin shook her head. “I’m not angry…. Well, I’m not angry now that I know what happened. I’m just…” She couldn’t find words for what she was feeling. Her heart was pounding as if it was trying to free itself from her ribcage, and her head was reeling. The feeling was similar to panic, only tempered with a more pleasant emotion.

 _Leo really likes me in that way?_ Her heart swelled, but Corrin tried to clamp down on her hope before it could ascend too high. After all, these were Leo’s retainers talking: Niles, who already seemed convinced that Leo and Corrin were far more intimate than they actually were, and Odin, whose dramatic tendencies made her question anything that came out of his mouth. _I’ll believe it only if I hear it from Leo himself,_ she decided. _And no sooner._

She realized that Niles and Odin were watching her expectantly, waiting for the end of her sentence. “I’m just surprised,” she said finally. “But I’m fine.”

“Good,” said Odin. “So, Lady Corrin, could you also…” He scratched the back of his head. “…not tell Lord Leo that we told you any of this? I’d rather not feel the sweet embrace of death just yet.”

A weak giggle escaped Corrin’s mouth. “Okay, I won’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even though I'm always worrying over whether I'm doing it right or not, I really do like writing Odin and Niles. They're the best. And I'm not just saying that because Owain was my second Awakening husband. (My first was Henry. I love Henry to pieces. Apparently I have a bit of a thing for dark mages? Okay, as much of a thing for dark mages as Henry has a thing for killing--aka I seem to really like them a lot.)
> 
> Another fun thing to write is angry Corrin. We don't see that side of her a lot, but I figure it's pretty scary for everyone when it does come out. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter (even though it was shorter than I thought it was 'til I pasted it here). I'm figuring I may start a Monday/Friday updating schedule because that seems like it'll work best with my class schedule, but that's just conjecture, to be honest. I'm bad at schedules. :)


	12. Birthrights and Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's really cold aboveground. Much shivering occurs.

The bitter wind picked up, and Elise shivered beneath her heavy cloak. She gulped down another sip of steaming coffee, but it only warmed her throat for a moment. “Wow, is it just me, or has it gotten even _colder_ than it was before we sat down? Sakura, have you heard back from Takumi yet?”

Seated beside her on the long, ornate bench, Sakura lifted her tea to her lips and drank. She sighed as she placed her mug back in her lap. “Not yet. B-b-but hopefully, he’ll write soon.”

Elise knew that Sakura’s stutter wasn’t because she was nervous around her anymore, but because of the cold. When she had met up with the goddess of healing near the Great Wall of Suzanoh, Hoshido was already beginning to feel a bit nippy. But now, it was just as icy as the sudden burst of winter that had swept through Cheve when Elise was finishing her visit there. It was unusual enough for Nohr to be so cold at the beginning of summer, but for _Hoshido_? The land of sunshine and bountiful harvests? There was no chance that this weather was natural.

When Elise met with Sakura, the Hoshidan goddess had already met with the rest of her siblings about it, and they had sent Takumi to investigate the source of the chill. Elise wasn’t sure if it was quite in the god of hunting’s area of expertise, but apparently, Takumi had been very eager to take on the challenge.

“I’m sure he will!” Elise chirped.

_And… I’m sure that my family will write back soon, too._ She’d written to Xander just after the winter started, to see if he knew what was going on. Usually, she would leave the letter-writing to Corrin, who seemed to enjoy it a lot more, but now that Corrin was on Mount Krakenburg with Xander, Camilla, and Azura, Elise had to buckle down and do it herself. And she still hadn’t heard back from her older siblings yet. _Although maybe it’s because I can’t remember if I told them where I was going after I left Cheve… Oops._

Another gust of wind blasted over them, swiping away her breath. Sakura shivered. Since she’d grown up in Hoshido, she was having even more difficulties adjusting to this sudden onslaught of winter than Elise was. Elise scooted closer to her on the bench, hoping it might help Sakura keep warm.

“Wh-when did your big brother and sister say they were getting here again?” Elise asked.

“Any t-time now. The weather must be slowing them d-down.”

Elise cupped her chin in her hands and sighed. She wasn’t built for waiting. Even now that she’d grown more mature, she hated sitting around and doing nothing.

It took Ryoma and Hinoka another hour to arrive. By the time Hinoka’s pegasus touched down, Elise and Sakura had started to huddle for warmth—the young goddesses’ arms twined around each other’s shoulders as if they had never been enemies during the war.

“B-big Sister, Big Brother!” Sakura rose from the bench and rushed to meet them as they dismounted. “I was worried that something had h-happened to you!”

“Sakura.” Ryoma smiled as he wrapped his arms around his youngest sister’s cloaked shoulders. “You know, you could have waited inside somewhere.”

As Sakura embraced Ryoma and Hinoka and the three siblings caught up, Elise slowly stood up. She stretched her limbs and took another warm gulp of coffee, waiting for the Hoshidan gods to finish their greetings before she interrupted them.

“Lady Elise,” said Ryoma, inclining his head when she approached. “I’m glad you agreed to meet with us.” He didn’t look especially glad. He had been smiling when he and Hinoka greeted Sakura, but now, his face bore a deep frown. It reminded Elise of Xander, just a bit. Oh, her brother would have hated that comparison.

“What did you want to talk to me about?” she asked.

Another burst of icy wind swept over the Great Wall, and Hinoka’s brow furrowed. She glanced over at her shivering pegasus. “Let’s get inside somewhere.”

Once Hinoka had escorted her mount to a stable and ensured that the pegasus was fed and blanketed, the three Hoshidan gods and Elise took shelter themselves, in front of a roaring hearth. There, Ryoma regarded Elise gravely. “You might want to sit down for this, Lady Elise.”

“Huh?” Elise cocked her head like a bewildered puppy, but she obeyed, sinking down onto a cushioned chaise in front of the fire. “Okay. What now?”

“It’s about your… your sister,” Ryoma began. “The woman you know as Lady Corrin.”

The news that followed was staggering enough to make Elise grateful that she’d listened to Ryoma’s advice and sat down. Corrin wasn’t really her sister? More than that, she was really the lost Hoshidan goddess, Kamui? Elise’s thoughts spiraled as she struggled to accept this. She had to bite her tongue to keep herself from interrupting Ryoma and Hinoka a million times during their revelation.

“Does Corrin… K-Kamui… know about all this?” Elise asked finally.

Ryoma shook his head. “Not as far as I’m aware. We’re going to tell her, though. Where is she now?”

“She went to Mount Krakenburg,” she said.

“Good. We’ll write to Takumi and tell him to meet us there.”

Elise tugged absently on the end of her pigtail. “But I don’t know if it’s a great idea to go up there and tell her. After all, the last time you saw her and the rest of the family was…”

“I understand,” Ryoma said. His eyes glinted with resolve in the flickering hearth-light. “But this will be different. Once she learns that we’re her family…”

Elise’s stomach squirmed at the sound of that. As if she and the rest of her siblings weren’t Corrin’s family anymore, just because they weren’t related to her by blood. As if Corrin’s parentage erased the years that Elise, Leo, Camilla, and Xander had spent by her side, laughing with her. And the darker moments when they had mourned and bled with Corrin, too.

But, Elise told herself firmly, she shouldn’t pitch a fit over it like she was a spoiled little child. She braced herself and smiled. “You’re right—it’s different now,” she said. “We’re not at war anymore. And this is something that she’ll definitely want to know about. I’ll go to Mount Krakenburg with you, so Xander knows that you come in peace.”

Sakura smiled. “Thank you, Elise. That means a lot to us.”

“It’s no problem,” said Elise, but after Sakura looked away, she frowned. _As long as they don’t try to take my sister away from us…_

* * *

When they reached the golden palace at the peak of Mount Krakenburg, Corrin wasn’t there. Elise stood alongside the Hoshidan gods in Xander’s throne room, as her older brother and Azura told them a story that rattled Elise to the core all over again.

It obviously shook the Hoshidan siblings, as well. Ryoma spoke through clenched teeth. “That arrogant bastard… took my sister… to the _Underworld_?”

“I’m afraid so,” said Xander from his throne.

“No!” Elise cried. She shook her head, so forcefully that her pigtails lashed against her shoulders. “Leo would never do something like that. He wouldn’t!”

“I don’t want to believe it, either,” said Xander. “But he still won’t answer my calls and letters. Camilla tried calling him many times, too, and he never answered.”

“Where is Camilla?” Elise asked.

Xander’s frown deepened. She hadn’t thought that was possible. “I haven’t seen her since we tried to go down to the Underworld. After the gates wouldn’t open for us, she wouldn’t return to the palace with me. She stormed away—literally. A storm of ice was left behind in her wake.”

Sakura gasped. “Th-that’s why the mortal lands are so cold?”

“Camilla… did this?” Elise said almost inaudibly.

“Can’t you find her and calm her down?” Ryoma asked. “Our crops are dying. Soon, our people will have nothing to eat.”

Xander’s eyes narrowed. “Do you think our land is any better off than yours right now?”

“Big Brother,” Elise started.

He shook his head, his voice lowering until it was nearly a whisper. “But no, I can’t go out and look for Camilla. Even if I had the faintest idea where to find her, I don’t have the time to spare. I have more work to do than ever, since this blizzard swept over Nohr.”

“Maybe Takumi will find her,” said Hinoka. At Xander’s confused expression, she explained, “We figured that this weather wasn’t natural, so our brother went to search for the source of it.”

“Perhaps we should hope that Takumi doesn’t find her,” Azura said softly. All eyes turned toward the songstress. “Camilla was truly distraught over Corrin’s capture. And judging by the fact that the weather is only growing worse, she’s still too upset to be reasoned with. If Takumi tries to talk to her, he might get hurt.”

“At this rate,” said Xander, “the only way to calm her down is to get Corrin back.”

Hinoka nodded slowly. Her hands were curled into fists at her sides. “Getting our sister back,” she said, glancing back and forth between Sakura and Ryoma. “Sounds like a good plan to me.”

Ryoma’s gaze was still fixed on Xander. “But you said that you couldn’t get into the Underworld. And you said that you couldn’t even contact your own brother in order to reason with him?”

“I don’t like your tone,” said Xander.

“Well, I don’t like the fact that you’ve stolen our sister away from us twice now!”

“Everyone, please…” Azura started, but Xander and Ryoma’s argument drowned her out.

Elise met Sakura’s eyes and saw a mirror of her own dread. _Leo, please,_ she begged silently. _Call us and tell us that there’s been a gigantic misunderstanding. That Corrin’s okay, and she’s happy, and that everybody should just stop fighting right now._

Elise was hailed as the goddess of peace, but just then, she feared that she was witnessing the beginnings of another brutal war.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter, even if it's short. I love the lil' sisters so much. (And yes, we're going to see what Takumi's up to soon.)
> 
> In other news, I've been sleeping too little and playing Bravely Default too much. Which seems like a fair trade to me. Wow, this game is great. And painful. And great.


	13. White as a Bone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You've kind of set off an eternal winter... everywhere."

The wintery wind swirled around Takumi, spewing flakes of ice into his eyes. He tried to blink away the snow, but more came instantly to take its place. He groaned. _I hate this. Remind me why I came all the way out here again?_

_…Oh, right._ Because he’d heard from the villagers that the storm was at its most intense here—and it hadn’t proven them wrong. The gale was getting increasingly fierce, tearing at his ponytail and trying to rip his cloak right off his shoulders. The snow beneath his feet was blinding. And the sound—the sound was almost worse than the biting cold. Deafening, soul-piercing, like the synchronous howl of a wolf pack or the lonesome wail of a mourning mother.

Takumi trudged onward, snow sucking at his boots like quicksand. He clenched his teeth. If he was a mortal, he could’ve prayed to the gods for divine assistance. Except he _was_ a god, and he was stuck here alone in the dead center of the storm.

Or not so alone. Takumi glimpsed a distant figure through the rush of wind and ice, and he planted his feet in the snow. He squinted, hoping for a closer look, but he couldn’t see anything more distinct than a blur of purple and black.

_Nohrian colors._ He exhaled through his teeth, and a puff of his breath wisped away into the snow. Instinctively, he reached for his bow, then stopped. _We’re supposedly at peace now, remember? I won’t pull my weapon on them until I see if they’re hostile. Which, being Nohrian scum, they probably will be._ He blinked as he started moving toward the figure, still straining to see them better. _Why are they out here, anyway? Don’t tell me… Could one person really be the cause of this unearthly weather?_

When he drew closer, he realized—with a jolt of ice down his spine that had nothing to do with the storm—that this was no ordinary person. Takumi recognized this figure. This was Lady Camilla: a ludicrously powerful Nohrian goddess who had nearly killed him on the battlefield with her wyvern and her gleaming axe. He didn’t see any sign of either of those things now, but even so—even alone and apparently unarmed, with her back turned to him—Camilla of Nohr was still a threat.

He gulped, his fingers twitching toward his bow again. _But she’s also the goddess in charge of the changing seasons. Maybe_ she’s _the reason for all this. If so…_ He didn’t like it, but Takumi knew that he had to confront her. He’d sworn to Ryoma that he would find the cause of this storm that had frozen Hoshido, and that he’d fix things if he could.

As Takumi approached, Lady Camilla turned around to face him. Her long lavender hair whipped around her head in the wind, but even despite the cold, she was wearing light armor, like the kind that one would have ordinarily worn during this time of year. Shouldn’t she have been freezing to death? Or maybe she was immune to the cold, if she was really the cause of it.

And the look on Lady Camilla’s face—her elegant features were twisted with anguish, an emotion so potent that Takumi could feel it in the gale battering against him.  
“Why are you here?” Her voice was… strange. _Echoing._ As if it was multiplied by the storm around them.

“I…” Takumi could hardly speak. Because his lips were numb from the cold, and because he stood alone before the goddess whose power had created it. “I c-came to find you.”

“You came to find me?” she repeated, her eyebrows arched. “One of the Hoshidan godlings? How curious. Now, why would you do such a thing?” Takumi opened his mouth to explain, but she didn’t seem to notice. Her tone was light and lilting, a sharp contrast to the howling storm and the fearsome power that he knew she was capable of. “Oh, don’t tell me—you’ve come to be my new little brother?”

That… wasn’t what Takumi had expected. At all. Not even a bit. “Are you crazy?” he exclaimed.

Lady Camilla carried on as if she hadn’t heard. “After all, my old little brother did such a naughty thing. He stole my darling Corrin away from me and took her back to the Underworld with him. Can you believe that?”

No. No, he couldn’t. Cold slipped into Takumi’s veins. The last time he had talked to Ryoma and Hinoka, they had told him about their growing suspicions that the so-called “Lady Corrin of Nohr” was actually Kamui, their sister. Finally, they said, they were going to get their sister back. And now, the Nohrians were snatching Kamui away again? And that arrogant Lord Leo, at that? Takumi’s fists tightened.

“What an idiot.”

“Isn’t it awful, though?” said Lady Camilla. “So now that Leo has planted himself right at the top of my hit list, you can be my new little brother.”

“A-and I’ll ask you again,” said Takumi, “are you crazy? Little brother? D-do I need to remind you that you’ve tried to k-kill me before?”

She didn’t seem especially fazed by this. “Aww, darling, are you getting all flustered? That’s so cute.”

Heat surged into Takumi’s cheeks. “I-I am not flustered! I’m _f-f-freezing!_ ”

“Oh?” Lady Camilla frowned. The winds flagged a bit, so they were no longer trying to tear Takumi’s cloak away from him. When the older woman spoke again, her words had lost that eerie, echoing quality. “I’m sorry. I’ll lighten up a little bit.”

“A little bit?” He took a step back as she took a step forward. “How about you st-stop this winter altogether?”

Lady Camilla was still frowning, her lower lip jutting out in a slight pout. “But why should I do that?”

“Because it’s k-killing our crops! And our people will be next—yours and mine, Lady Camilla!” Takumi shivered. “D-do you want to rule over a graveyard? Because mortals are going to die if this keeps up.”

“They will, won’t they?” She hesitated. “But if they do, they’ll go straight to the lord of the Underworld. Then, Leo will have to answer for what he’s brought on them.”

“He isn’t the one who’s freezing the mortal lands solid!”

Her eyes narrowed. They were long-lashed and violet, and if she had been anyone else but a vengeful goddess of Nohr, Takumi probably would have found her quite pretty. But certainly not now, when she was beginning to look upset enough that she might freeze _him_ solid next.

“Oh, but it’s entirely his fault. If he hadn’t kidnapped my darling Corrin, none of this would have happened.”

“O-of course,” said Takumi. He kept getting the urge to draw his Fujin Yumi, and it was hard to keep fighting it. “D-do you have any other plans to get her back? Plans that don’t sacrifice countless mortals?”

“Why would you like to know? Do you want to help me? What a precious little brother you are!”

Lady Camilla smiled, bouncing once on the balls of her feet. It was a decisively childish gesture from someone who was decisively _not_ childish, in age or in physique. Takumi sighed through his teeth. _Why is she even wearing something like that? Seriously, why isn’t she freezing?_ At least the heat blooming in his cheeks was probably preventing his face from developing frostbite.

But it was definitely a good idea to keep on Lady Camilla’s good side, especially since she also wanted to get Kamui back. For now, they shared a goal. Takumi forced a small smile and nodded. “Um… yes. I-I’d like to help you.”

Camilla lunged at him, flinging her arms around him and squeezing far too tightly. She nestled her chin in his hair with a chuckle, and Takumi realized that, even if his chances of dying of cold were significantly lower, he was suddenly at a much greater risk of suffocating.

“Oh, Lady Camilla.” A new voice sounded from behind Takumi, low with amusement. “I didn’t realize you’d taken up with a Hoshidan.”

Takumi extricated himself from Camilla’s embrace. “Wh-what? I haven’t t-taken up with…!” He turned around to see a man with long, dark hair and a mask that concealed half of his face. Takumi remembered this person—the repulsive right-hand man of the dark god Garon. _What was his name again…?_

“Iago,” said Camilla. Her eyes were cold. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be on Mount Krakenburg, helping Xander and Azura find a way to get Corrin back?”

“Corrin?” Iago scoffed. “Do you know how time flows in the Underworld? It’s been ages by now.”

“Exactly.” Camilla subtly shifted, swaying forward and nudging Takumi back so she stood between him and Iago. “So my Corrin should have been brought back to me by now.”

“Milady, I’m not sure that’s possible.”

Takumi saw Camilla’s shoulders tense, but he wasn’t sure that Iago noticed. He wasn’t sure that he wanted Iago to notice.

“Oh?” said Camilla. “And why not?”

“By my calculations, Lady Corrin has been down there for weeks. I’m sorry, Lady Camilla,” said Iago, not looking remotely sorry, “but by this point, she has almost certainly eaten the food of the realm below. To be blunt, she is now bound to the Underworld for eternity.” The corner of his lip twitched upward.

“You…! Are you _happy_ about this?”

Iago didn’t answer, but his smile expanded until it was unmistakable.

A low growl rumbled from Camilla’s throat. She stretched out her hands, her palms facing Iago—and the man dropped. He sunk to the ground like a stone, clutching at his chest. Takumi couldn’t see anything wrong with him, but Iago’s face wrenched with agony.

“Please, Lady Camilla! H-have mercy….”

“Mercy isn’t for snakes.” Camilla turned away from his suffering, pivoting to face Takumi again. “So?” she said. “Shall we go back to Mount Krakenburg? We can talk about these other plans to get Corrin back. I’ll just call Marzia….”

She raised her fingers to her lips and whistled. Moments later, a massive, dark shape descended from the gray clouds above their heads—a wyvern with eyes like glowing embers. Instinctively, Takumi shrunk behind Camilla.

“There, there,” she said calmly, reaching up to ruffle the hair at the top of Takumi’s ponytail. “It’s only my Marzia. Isn’t she cute?”

“Uh…” He swallowed hard. “Of course. She’s lovely.”

“Good, because you’re riding on her back along with me.” Camilla alighted onto the wyvern’s back and patted the space behind her expectantly. When Takumi didn’t move, she shot him a smile that was obviously meant to be encouraging, but that only came off as terrifying. “Well? Aren’t you coming, darling?”

Takumi’s shoulders slumped with resignation. _Why is this happening to me? I eat my vegetables and brush my teeth every night. What did I do to deserve this?_ Tentatively, he approached Marzia. When the beast didn’t lunge at him, he sighed and clambered onto her back, behind Camilla. She made a happy humming sound.

“Now, hold on tightly. I don’t want you to fall down.” After Takumi reluctantly wrapped his arms around her waist, she added, “It will be a long flight, so if you get sleepy, feel free to take a nap on my shoulder, darling.”

Takumi shut his eyes. “D-don’t call me that.”

“Ooh, somebody’s grumpy. You could definitely use that nap.” She took Marzia’s reins in her hands. “Here we go.”

The wyvern lurched into the sky, leaving Takumi’s stomach far below. He clung to Camilla and hoped that he wouldn’t be sick all over the back of her armor. Although maybe she would deserve it for unleashing such a devastating blizzard. As the icy ground fell farther and farther beneath them, he gritted his eyes shut. _And again—why? Why does this have to happen to me?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Simple Plan is playing in Takumi's head as they fly away* _"How could this happen to me? I've made my mistakes. Got nowhere to run..."_ Poor little pineapple.
> 
> Did my fondness for Takumilla kinda creep into this chapter a bit? Yes. Do I care? Not especially. (Also, sorry for the Frozen reference as the chapter's summary, but it was necessary. Though the only frozen heart around here is Iago's.)
> 
> Also, I finished Bravely Default, and Bravely Second hasn't come in the mail yet, so I feel oddly empty inside. (Also, I have a test in a few hours, so I'm gonna cut this A/N short to study now.)


	14. Legacy

“Leo… There’s something I wanted to ask you.”

Leo glanced down to ensure that his collar was on correctly. That wasn’t it. He looked back up at Corrin across the dining table and realized that her cheeks were stained pink, highlighting the color of her eyes. A litany of possible questions she might want to ask him rushed through his mind, one after another. Some filled him with dread. Some were impossible, but the idea of them made his heart leap inside its cage.

He kept his smile bland, hoping his face wouldn’t betray his thoughts. “I’ll do my best to answer it to your satisfaction then, sister. What do you need to know?”

“I wanted to know…”

Her gaze flickered down to the table, concealing her eyes behind the shield of her lashes. The great hall’s dancing torches wove threads of gold through her pale hair, complementing the regal cut of her blouse. The overall effect was staggering. It wasn’t fair—it was as if Corrin had grown even prettier in the past few weeks, and sometimes, the mere sight of her was enough to make his head spin. Normally, Leo wasn’t fond of his head spinning, especially when he was trying to think, but around Corrin, it was often accompanied by other pleasant sensations. The sweet, rosy scent of her hair and the warmth that her presence sparked in his chest both sprang to mind.

Corrin drew in a deep breath, and the words burst out of her mouth. “I wanted to know if you’d come visit my mother with me after your work’s finished today.”

Leo regarded her curiously. He’d known that she sometimes visited Mikoto, and presumably Sumeragi as well, in the fields of Elysium, but he had figured that her visits were solitary for a reason. So Corrin could finally catch up with the birth parents that she’d forgotten. He had never imagined that she might want him to come along with her—Leo, who had once been one of the chief enemies of her parents’ country.

All the same, Corrin was staring at him with such an earnest expression. Her eyes were wide as they snared the firelight, and she nervously twiddled her fingers atop the table. She sucked her lower lip into her mouth as she waited for Leo’s answer—a gesture that certainly didn’t make his answer come quicker.

“If that’s what you’d like,” he said. “All right. We’ll go tonight.”

A grin burst across her face. “Thank you, Leo! You’re the best.”

* * *

Leo hadn’t walked the fields within Elysium in ages, but they were just as he remembered them. The gold blooms swayed under the warm sunlight as he and Corrin stepped through the grass toward the place where Lady Mikoto waited.

The former ruler of Hoshido didn’t strongly resemble Corrin. Mikoto’s hair was ink-black where her daughter’s was silvery-white, and their eyes were different colors, as well—Mikoto’s were warm brown, and Corrin’s were as red as the dawn. But they were both beautiful, and their smiles seemed to have identical soothing properties. As Leo followed after Corrin, Mikoto inclined her head to him with a bright smile, and his apprehension drifted away on the breeze.

“Lady Mikoto,” he said, bowing his head in return. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m—”

“Leo. Yes,” said Mikoto, “I’ve heard plenty about you.”

Leo turned to Corrin, but she shrugged her shoulders. Under Elysium’s glow, her cheeks looked warm and pink. “She must be talking about her prophecies.”

Mikoto’s smile broadened. “Perhaps. That aside, I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, as well. I wanted to thank you for taking care of my sweet daughter.”

“It was no problem,” he said, clasping his hands behind his back. “Corrin was raised as a sister to the Nohrian godly family, so it was only natural for us to look out for her.”

“All the same,” said Corrin’s mother, “I’m grateful to you. You protected her when I no longer could.”

Leo’s cheeks warmed under Mikoto’s enigmatic smile. _What’s with that tone of hers? She sounds like she knows something that she isn’t saying._ His blood flashed cold. _She_ is _the goddess of prophecy. What if she knows how I feel about her daughter?_ The idea was too humiliating to bear.

He started to protest again automatically. “It wasn’t a p…”

Corrin giggled, nudging his arm. “Don’t listen to Leo. I’ve been plenty of trouble for him and the others. He’s just being modest—for once.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked.

“Nothing at all.”

Mikoto chuckled. The sound was warm, and as her eyes flickered between Corrin and Leo, he was reminded, oddly enough, of the moment when he had first bonded with Camilla as a child. When she’d embraced him, and he had thought, _This is what a mother should be like._ Nurturing and warm. Mikoto had loved Corrin enough to die for her, and that love radiated from her smile, even now.

“Don’t tease him too badly now, Kamui,” she said with a playful gleam in her eyes.

The name was foreign to Leo’s ears, but he knew its significance immediately. He turned to face Corrin. “Kamui,” he said quietly, testing the syllables on his tongue. His pronunciation was flawed, not like the musical way that Mikoto had spoken it.

Corrin nodded. “That’s… what they called me when I was born. In Hoshido.”

“Kamui,” Leo repeated. “Do you want me to call you that from now on?”

She glanced from his face to her mother’s and repeated the process several more times. She hesitated, and Leo realized the magnitude of such a choice. Her Hoshidan name represented the place where she had come from, but her Nohrian name—that was all she had known growing up. To choose between them… It must have been a heavy weight on her shoulders.

He rested his hand softly on her arm. Her skin was warm, like the summer breeze floating through her hair. “Don’t worry about hurting my feelings,” said Leo. “The choice is yours, so make it based on your own feelings.”

“Leo…” A faint smile settled on her lips. “Thanks.” She turned back to Mikoto, though she didn’t shift her arm away from Leo’s touch. “Mother, you can keep calling me Kamui—and my siblings in Hoshido can, too, once I tell them. But… Corrin is the name that I know. It’s the name that I’ve used when I was introduced to so many people that I care about. And I don’t think I want to give it up.”

“That’s fine, my sweet child,” said Mikoto.

Corrin looked back at Leo, her tiny smile blooming into something so genuine and unrestrained that it nearly stopped his heart. “Which is a really long way of saying that you can still call me Corrin, if you want.”

“I do want,” he said. A quiet gasp left Corrin’s lips, and Leo tensed, lifting his hand from her arm. “To call you Corrin, that is.” Damn it, why did she possess the ability to paralyze his brain? He was lucky she wasn’t his enemy, with a power like that.

She laughed. “All right.” She opened her mouth to say something more, then paused, her focus snapping over to something over Leo’s shoulder.

Instinctively, he turned to follow the path of her eyes, and he froze. A familiar shape, dressed in regal garments that were dark against the brightness of Elysium, strode across the field toward them. His skin was still creased by time and by burden, but it was no longer ashen and gray. The glow of the blessed realm had warmed it into something more natural. Something inside Leo’s chest trembled and caved, like a lost child falling to his knees once someone found him at last. The approaching god’s eyes—for the first time in a long time, Leo looked into his eyes and found goodwill.

“Father,” he whispered.

He felt warmth at his side. Corrin had edged closer to him, her eyes fixed on Garon as he drew near. Leo felt her trembling slightly, and he allowed his arm to brush against hers.

“Garon,” said Mikoto. It wasn’t the tone Leo expected her to use with the man who had killed her husband and caused her own death. Mikoto’s voice was still gentle, and her eyes were still kind.

Corrin blinked, turning toward her mother. “Y-you know each other? Here, I mean?”

She nodded. As Garon lingered on the fringes of their group, Mikoto explained, “This is Elysium, where we are our true selves. Occasionally, Garon visits with me and with Sumeragi. In death, as in the beginning of time, the gods of darkness and light get along well with one another.”

Garon still held himself at a distance, and as Leo moved to look at him, their eyes met. Garon shifted and cleared his throat. Unspoken words filled the air between them, but Leo didn’t feel the need to voice any of them. He had already leafed through Garon’s mind years ago, and he already knew everything that he might have said. After Leo had judged his father, he’d retreated to his chambers and cried. He hadn’t cried during the war, or since the day of Garon’s judgment, but that night, he had spilled his emotions into his pillow until he was dry.

Slowly, Garon turned to face Corrin, and Leo felt her quivering get worse as she leaned against him. But Garon’s eyes weren’t harsh like those of the shell that she’d known. “Kamui,” he said, his voice like the whisper of paper. “Corrin. The daughter I never truly knew.”

Corrin opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out except breath.

“Your feelings are justified. There is no excuse,” Garon said slowly, “for what I did to you. Whether I was myself or not, my actions were the same. So I won’t offer excuses. And I won’t expect your forgiveness. My son’s was already enough—no, _more_ forgiveness than one should expect in a lifetime.” He clasped his hands behind his back. He wasn’t quite looking Corrin in the eyes, Leo noticed—instead, his gaze was fixed on some point just beside her. “All I can offer is my remorse.”

Corrin nodded stiffly. She didn’t speak. The breeze brushed its fingers through her hair, pushing it into her face, but she didn’t move to lift it out of her eyes. Her arm was rigid against Leo’s.

With Garon’s words lingering in the air between them, Leo’s father turned and left. Corrin didn’t stop shaking until he’d disappeared from her sight. Wrinkles cut through the pale skin of her forehead.

Leo knew Corrin—who held as much love and forgiveness inside her heart as ten average people, and twenty times more than Leo had. He knew that she would want to forgive Garon, even after the hell that he’d forced her to walk through. And Leo also knew that Corrin would feel impossibly guilty for finding it so difficult.

“It’s all right, you know,” he told her. “If you can’t forgive him. Or even if you don’t want to. It’s your own feelings that matter here, remember?”

Corrin pressed her lips together in a grimace. “I know, but you forgave him. He wouldn’t be here if you didn’t. What does it say that you can forgive him, but I can’t?”

Leo chuckled. “That even I have my weaknesses, and that you’re flawed just like everyone else in this world.”

Mikoto watched their exchange quietly, another secret smile gracing her face. She definitely knew about Leo’s feelings. And yet he didn’t detect any judgment in her eyes. Only warmth. _If she’s the goddess of prophecy, and she isn’t angry that I’m in love with her daughter…_

Leo shook off that thought before it could take root. He refused to hold onto unfounded hopes. Corrin obviously had no interest in him, at least no interest that exceeded the familial. She referred to him as her little brother. She started tickle fights with him and called him “cute” and “grouchy pants” in such a condescending tone. Corrin didn’t even see him as a man, much less as a man that she wasn’t related to.

And he was nearly out of time. Corrin only had a few roses left, and there was no chance that he was going to let her eat the food of the Underworld. He was going to tell Niles and Odin to bring Corrin back to Nohr as soon as her food ran out, and they were going to stay there with her to keep her safe until the situation aboveground was resolved. If they stayed within the chariot, they should be able to remain aboveground indefinitely.

Leo’s feelings for her were irrelevant. And whatever feelings Corrin had toward him were equally irrelevant. He wouldn’t allow her to become tethered to this dark place for eternity, just because he wanted her for himself. Corrin belonged in the world above, where it was summer, and flowers were blooming even in Nohr. Leo refused to confine her to the Underworld, when—aside from her fleeting reprieves in Elysium—the best he could provide for Corrin was dim torchlight and the meager roses and fruit he’d grown in his garden.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A wild Garon appears! ...And then promptly disappears because he realizes how uncomfortable he's making Corrin. Oh well, since she goes to Elysium often enough, an apology from Garon was necessary. And the fact that, just because someone apologizes, that doesn't mean you have to be 100% okay with it was also necessary. (Heck--even if Corrin does forgive him eventually, that doesn't make everything he did go away by magic. Spoiler alert: that ain't how child abuse works, my friends. Sincerely, your friendly ball of poorly repressed childhood issues. :) That, and there's also the fact that, unlike with the Hoshidan parents, we never get to actually see the real Garon in canon (hello, missed opportunities), so I have no idea how he should act. So I went with the interpretation where he "nope"s on out of there after saying his piece and realizing that his presence is upsetting Corrin.
> 
> ...Aaanyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! And when Mikoto says she's already heard a lot about Leo, she _totally_ meant from Corrin, not her prophecies. Honestly, even without prophecy, Mikoto would've figured it out just by the fact that Corrin probably won't shut up about him, haha.


	15. A Burdened Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Corrin and Leo have a bit of a Talk.

Only one rose remained on Corrin’s dresser. A final, velvet-petaled remnant of the world aboveground, still as lush and red as the day she had picked it from the garden at the base of Mount Krakenburg, before Leo’s chariot had stolen her away.

She needed to return to Nohr soon, or else eat the food of the Underworld and be bound to Leo’s domain forever. _That, or I could just starve to death. And then, I’d definitely be stuck here forever._

Panic slunk into her lungs when she dwelled for too long on her dwindling time. She tried to avoid thinking about it, but she needed to think about it soon because she knew she was running out of time… which only made her fret more by thinking about it all over again.

She knew one thing for certain—she needed to talk to Leo. She kept thinking about what Odin and Niles had told her. _“That’s why we really brought you here in the first place. To be Lord Leo’s bride.”_ She had assured them that she wouldn’t tell Leo that they had told her, but at the same time, she wanted to hear it straight from him. She wanted to know if she truly wasn’t alone in this unanticipated feeling, or if it was just another misunderstanding.

She tried not to get her hopes up, but Corrin’s hope was an insidious, irrepressible creature.

She found him in the library during his lunch break. He was seated on a cushioned chair with a novel propped up on his knee, and he looked so intent that Corrin wasn’t even sure if he’d noticed her come in. She waited until he reached a stopping place and marked his page before she spoke. “Hey, Leo,” she said quietly. She knew there was no one else in the library who would be disturbed if she raised her voice, but even so, it was habit. “Aren’t you going to eat lunch?”

“I already did,” he said. He folded his hands on top of his book and looked up at Corrin. “Do you need anything from me?”

“I was just bored and wanted some company, that’s all.”

Corrin perched herself on the cushioned arm of the chair, beside Leo’s shoulder. He went still, obviously because of her closeness. Corrin could have taken that as a sign that he returned her feelings, but it also could have been because she was invading his personal space and he just didn’t like that. She thought about standing up again, but that might look suspicious now. Oh, why was she overanalyzing everything?

“You know,” she said, “I was thinking about when Niles and Odin first brought me here. I’m still a little fuzzy on the details of all that. Did Xander ask you to keep me in the Underworld before you actually brought me here, or after?”

“Before, of course.” He glanced at her warily. “Why?”

“I was just wondering. You, of all people, shouldn’t blame someone for wanting to learn.” She had him there, and they both knew it. He narrowed his eyes in feigned annoyance, and she grinned back. “So you’re saying that you wouldn’t have kidnapped me just to get me to come and see you?”

“Of course not,” said Leo. “That’s ridiculous, sister. Why would I do that, when I could just write to you and ask?”

“But that would require admitting that you desired to partake in my companionship.”

“What?” Leo’s expression was torn between a bemused smile and a grimace. “That sounds like something that Odin would say.”

Corrin hesitated. _Oops._

Her face was an open book—and Leo was an expert on reading. Realization dawned on his features, tearing away any trace of a smile. When he spoke, his voice was stern. “What did they tell you?”

“That you, um…” _Damn it, damn it, damn it._ She was such an idiot. Why had she tried to mastermind a conversation with a strategist? What a foolish idea. Maybe she should’ve overanalyzed _more_ before she decided to do this. “You, uh…”

“They told you what I’m afraid that they told you,” he said flatly, “didn’t they?”

“You mean, that you…” Corrin’s face flushed until it could have heated a hot spring. “Yeah. They t-told me that.”

Leo cursed viciously under his breath. “And you aren’t going to pretend you never heard anything, are you?” He sighed. “No, we wouldn’t be having this conversation then. Can you at least get off the arm of my chair? I can’t talk about this with you looming over me like that.”

Corrin stepped around to the front of the chair and knelt down, so they were nearly eye-to-eye. Now that she could see Leo’s face more clearly, it was obvious that he was flustered—red-cheeked, eyes shut. Her heart pounded. Why had she thought this was a good idea again?

“All right.” Leo exhaled. “Xander wanted me to keep you here so you would be safe. But you were brought here in the first place because, through some miscommunication, I was under the impression that you wanted to marry me.”

A nervous giggle wormed its way out of Corrin’s throat. “So… you found out that your big sister wanted to marry you, and your reaction was to bring her to you, instead of getting a restraining order? That’s… something.”

He sighed again, his eyes still clenched shut. “D-don’t pretend that you don’t understand when you really do. It’s insulting to both of us. Are you really going to make me say it?”

His voice was pained, and even though he was indirectly admitting exactly what she’d hoped, she could only ache for his sake. She found herself shaking her head. “No, Leo, it’s okay. You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to.”

“No, I might as well come out with it now. At this point, it can’t do any more damage than what’s already been done.” He planted the heel of his palm against his forehead. “I wanted to marry you, because I love you… in ways that a brother never should. I’m _in_ love with you. I’ve… been in love with you for years.”

Corrin’s breath snagged in her throat. Hearing him _say_ it was enough to make her voice faint. “Really?”

“You think I’m not aware of my own feelings? Trust me, I’m painfully aware of them.”

“Is that why, ever since I came here, you’ve been so stiff around me sometimes?”

Leo’s eyes flew open, and a choked cough emitted from his throat. His face darkened from red to scarlet. “I-it’s a natural biological occurrence, all right? It’s out of my control!”

Corrin cocked her head. “Your grumpy sarcasm is a natural biological occurrence? If you say so…”

“What? That’s…” He trailed off, still unnaturally wide-eyed and red. “Y-you… Yes, that’s definitely what I was talking about. Congratulations on making the rest of this talk seem significantly less awkward by comparison. You deserve a gold medal.”

“Leo?” she said, her voice shrinking. “A-are you really in love with me?”

He didn’t close his eyes this time. “I am…. Sorry. I know it’s too strange.”

“And… did you really want me to stay with you?” she asked. “Stay here?”

Leo’s expression hardened. “I did want that—but I was being selfish. That isn’t what I want anymore. Tomorrow afternoon, Odin and Niles are going to escort you back to Nohr.”

“What?” Corrin felt like she’d been bludgeoned in the stomach—staggered and dazed and breathless. “Why?”

“Why?” Leo repeated. “Because you’re nearly out of food, Corrin, and you are not eating from my garden. You don’t belong here.” He rose from his chair and took off toward the library doors. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, my lunch break is almost over.”

Corrin started after him. “No, it’s not—”

“In that case, pretend that I gave you some other valid excuse.” He reached for the door handle. “Excuse me.”

“Leo!” Corrin exclaimed. “You’re being unreasonable! I can make my own—”

Leo pivoted back around to face her, and his eyes were harsher than she’d seen in ages. His words were daggers, meant to wound. “Did you not hear me? You don’t belong in this place. And I don’t want you here!” While she was stunned, he slipped out of the library and shut the door behind him.

Corrin stared at the closed door for a solid fifteen seconds before she moved. She turned back to Leo’s chair, the bookmarked novel he’d left behind. Indignation rose inside her chest. _What happened to what you said yesterday? “The choice is yours, so make it based on your own feelings.” Aren’t you even going to ask what I think? Or what I feel about you?_

She slumped down into Leo’s chair, picking up his book and absently tracing the letters on the cover with her fingertip. “For a genius, you’re a huge idiot, Leo. Do you know that?”

She could almost hear his voice now. _“Well, you’re the one talking to an empty room.”_

Corrin glared at the library door. “That’s basically an ‘I know you are, but what am I?’ That’s really mature.”

_“I mean, I am a voice in your head, so you just ‘I know you are’-d yourself.”_

“Damn it.”

Maybe Corrin could be an idiot herself sometimes. Maybe she was even able to be outsmarted by a Leo who was a figment of her imagination. But that wasn’t all that she was. Her mother’s words echoed in her mind. _“You were born the goddess of choice.”_

And she made her own fate. Nobody else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, young love: the most awkward thing under the sun. And roses and the Underworld and growing up as family only complicate matters more.


	16. Embrace the Dark

The forest was cold and dark and deep, and Corrin had never traversed it alone before. Her fingers twisted in the fabric of her cloak, and she kept glancing over her shoulder, as if expecting that she was being followed. Not by some mysterious monster or specter, but by Leo. If he knew where she was going—and what she was planning to do when she got there—he would certainly try to stop her.

_“You don’t belong in this place. And I don’t want you here!”_ She knew that he had only said that because he wanted to protect her—to keep her from being tied to the Underworld like he was—but his sharp words had still hurt.

She kept imagining that she heard footsteps trailing behind her, or gnarled tree limbs snapping, but she knew that nobody was pursuing her. Leo was always occupied with his work at this time in the evening, and she’d seen for herself that his retainers were in the middle of a lively conversation in the great hall. Corrin was alone. And for once, she was glad for that.

At last, she reached the clearing in the center of the forest, where Leo’s garden was located. It was just as she remembered it: small and isolated, populated by plants that were only capable of growing here in the dark thanks to Leo’s magic. A tiny rosebush grew in the nearest part of the garden, occupied by small, dark red blooms.

Honestly, Corrin was sick of roses. Their sweet taste wasn’t bad, but it grew tiresome when it was all that you’d eaten for several weeks. She yearned for something more filling than flower petals.

Beyond the rosebush lay several plants bearing various kinds of fruits: tomatoes, pomegranates, raspberries, and more that she couldn’t identify in the dim lighting. She perused the plants for a moment, pursing her lips in thought, before she stopped and laughed at herself. Struggling to choose a fruit? This should have been the easy part.

She plucked the nearest pomegranate and cradled it in her hands. It wasn’t heavy, but it weighed as much as the world. _Am I really ready to do this?_ Tying herself to the Underworld, all for the sake of feelings that were still so new?

But no—that wasn’t it at all. She loved Leo, but even if she hadn’t harbored those kind of feelings for him, she had grown to like it here, more than she could have dreamed. She liked her room and the library, the fields of Elysium and Asphodel, and the little garden that Leo had coaxed out of the earth. Spending time with Leo, with Odin and Niles, with Mikoto and Sumeragi in Elysium. She wasn’t ready to give this up.

Whereas she had always dreaded the idea of living on Mount Krakenburg, even if the rest of her family dwelled there. She loved her siblings with her whole heart, but they could still spend time together, without Corrin having to move into the palace of the gods. Golden streets didn’t sound like they would feel as nice under her toes as the soft grass of Elysium.

Here, she could ease the burdens that Leo and his retainers were carrying. And she could make sure that the residents of Asphodel and Elysium were taken care of, too. Even in the Underworld, she could still care for people. And she would. She would devote the rest of eternity to making the Underworld a brighter place. It was the path that she had chosen.

Corrin took a deep gulp of air and raised the pomegranate toward her lips.

“Corrin! What the hell are you doing?”

The fruit tumbled from her hands, and she stooped to pick it up. Her knees skidded in the dirt. She looked up to find Leo storming into the clearing, the tails of his cloak gusting in his wake. He stopped several paces away from her, and his eyes were liquid fire.

“I’m hungry,” Corrin said innocently. “What does it look like I’m doing?”

“Sabotaging the rest of your eternal life!”

“Come on, Leo,” she said, scooping the pomegranate into her hands again. “That’s pretty dramatic. You’re not Odin.”

“It’s the truth,” he said. “I’ve spent years tied to this place, and I don’t want you to share the same fate. You wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

Corrin winced. “That’s a mean thing to say. Do you really think I’m so pathetic?”

“I didn’t mean…” Leo heaved a long sigh. “I meant that you shouldn’t be in a place like this. Someone like you doesn’t deserve it.”

“Someone like me?” she asked.

“Ugh, how can I put this?” He pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. “Someone who is as kind as you are, Corrin. Someone who… radiates light. From the outside and from within. A woman who is made of light _belongs_ in the light. Not imprisoned in a palace made of darkness inside a world of death.”

She frowned. “But it doesn’t have to be so dark. And shouldn’t I be the one who decides where I belong?”

“Of course,” said Leo. “But I can’t let you condemn yourself to this place forever. For any reason.”

“Then you’re not really offering me any choice at all, are you?”

“I want you to be happy.”

“Being here with you makes me happy!” she exclaimed.

His eyebrows raised, but his surprise quickly shifted back into stubbornness. “You’ll end up miserable here,” said Leo. “Let my retainers take you back to Nohr, so you can be with everyone else.”

Corrin turned the pomegranate over and over like a globe in her hands. “You know what my mother told me, the first time I visited her?” she said slowly. “She said that I’m not actually the goddess of love.”

“Really?” said Leo. He lowered his gaze to the ground. “Well. There goes any hope of my feelings being some twisted result of magic.”

He wasn’t looking at her anymore. Corrin’s pulse leapt. _This is my chance._ “Actually,” she said, “she called me the goddess of choice.”

Something in her tone must have given her away. Leo’s gaze shot up, his eyebrows drawn into a frantic peak, and he dove toward her. “Corrin, don’t—”

But he was too late. Corrin lifted the fruit to her lips, stared Leo right in the eyes, and bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter, but I wanted to cut it off where I did. (Corrin, you beautiful stubborn sunflower.) And fear not, the next chapter should be much longer. And quite fun.
> 
> By the way, if you're ever bored, look into the symbolism of flowers and that of pomegranates. I didn't really think about it before... but it does make all of this a bit more suggestive. Haha, oops. (My inner Niles is showing.)
> 
> Ummm... anyway! Hope you enjoyed! Angsty Leo isn't quite as fun to write as flustered Leo... but we should get more of _that_ soon enough~ ;)


	17. Waking Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Early update, woo-hoo! In which Leo reacts to Corrin's choice, and the author finally earns that T rating.

Cold horror coursed through Leo’s bloodstream as he slid to the ground in front of her, just as she took a bite of the pomegranate. He heard the soft sound of her teeth cutting through the fruit’s flesh, and it was over.

_She… But I… But_ why _…?_

Corrin lifted her face to look at him, cradling the damned pomegranate in her fingers, and _pride_ glinted in her eyes. Pride, and something else that he couldn’t quite dare to identify. Drops of juice sparkled on her lower lip, and she smiled.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he said. His voice cracked like a disgruntled adolescent’s. Or like a desperate man’s. “Don’t you grasp what you just did?”

“Of course I do,” she said. “I’ve thought a lot about this.”

“You have?”

A bead of juice trickled over the curve of Corrin’s lips, down her chin and the pale curve of her neck, and his gaze followed it. And want—ill-timed, idiotic _want_ —speared through him.

“Of course,” said Corrin, and his focus was drawn back up to her face again. Namely, her lips, still slick with juice. “I knew what a massive decision this was, so I spent ages thinking about it.”

“Thinking about… Are you serious?” And indignation joined the ache of longing again. He gestured around—to the black sky, the gnarled trees at the edge of the clearing, the sparse garden populated with the only fruits this land could offer. “And after spending all of that time thinking, you’d choose _this_?”

While Leo’s voice was raised with anger, Corrin’s was soft. Filled with calm and self-assurance. It took him a moment to make out her words. “I chose you.”

Everything went quiet and still. He gaped at her, his mouth hanging open, his lips forgetting words and his lungs forgetting air. And Corrin stared back. Her eyes were bright against the dark, and another droplet of juice slid down the side of her throat. Warmth prickled in his chest, chasing away his cold dread.

“You have three siblings in Nohr. And seven, if you count the Hoshidans,” he said slowly. “Why would you want… this?” He’d almost said “me.” He’d meant “me.”

She smiled—as unrestrained and radiant as the dawn. “I love you.”

And Leo’s hope flared so quickly that he couldn’t tamp it down, even though he tried. “Like a brother, though,” he said. It came out weakly, as a question. No, as a plea.

“Of course,” she said, and his hope crumpled like paper. “But more than that,” she added, “I also love you… for the man that you’ve grown to be. The one who’s brilliant, but also strong and kind. More so than most people understand.” She lowered her head with a sheepish giggle. “Yeah—I’m in love with that man.”

“You’re…” Leo was utterly lost for words. Was this really happening? It didn’t seem real. It didn’t seem like something that was remotely within the realm of possibility. Maybe he’d misheard. Or maybe… He shook his head. “Don’t tease me like that again. It isn’t funny.”

“I’m not teasing, Leo. I would never, ever tease you about something like that.”

She abandoned her pomegranate on the ground, its jewel-like seeds spilling out onto the earth. Still on her knees, she leaned closer to him—until his eyes crossed when he tried to look into hers, and he could smell the rosy scent of her hair. Until he could feel her warm breath ghosting across his lips.

“Wh-what are you…?” he started.

“I want to prove to you that I’m not just teasing you.” Her gaze flickered downward. At first, he thought she was looking toward the ground. Then, he realized she was staring at his mouth. He licked his lips instinctively, and she blushed. “Is… that okay?”

He nodded, wordless, breathless.

She kissed him in the most Corrin-like way possible—with a mixture of inadvisable recklessness and endearing enthusiasm. It was more of a collision than a kiss, honestly. She leaned forward so quickly that their noses bumped together and their teeth clacked, and Corrin jolted back, cringing.

“Oh, ouch. Oh, no. I am so sorry….”

But Leo’s smile was irrepressible. Even in the cold of the clearing, warmth sang through his veins. He spied a stray strand of hair hanging in Corrin’s face, and he reached up and tucked it behind the pointed tip of her ear. Her breath shuddered.

“You don’t have to apologize like that,” he whispered. He only kept his voice low because he suspected it might crack again if he spoke at a normal level, but Corrin’s breathing hitched again. He traced his fingers around the base of her ear until he was cradling her cheek. His hand was shaking, but he hoped she wouldn’t notice. “We could always try again.”

“Leo…” When she said his name like _that_ , the last of his nerves were soothed away. He tilted his head and leaned forward, capturing her lips in a real kiss.

She tasted like pomegranates. Like pomegranates and roses and warmth and light, and Leo doubted he would ever taste anything else in the world to rival Corrin’s mouth. Her lips were soft and still wet with sweet juice—and, he realized, they were entirely unsure. For a long moment, she didn’t react as his lips moved against hers, and Leo was on the verge of pulling away—even though he desperately didn’t want to—when she responded. Clumsy, but eager. She buried her fingers in his hair and tried to draw his face even closer to her own. He chuckled against her mouth and felt her grin.

He pulled away, just to watch her smile. Her lips were swollen from his kiss. Her lower lashes sparkled, and so did her eyes, and Leo wondered if it was healthy for him to go for so long without breath.

Corrin noticed his stare and tilted her head. “What is it?”

“You’re beautiful.” The words had been building up inside Leo for years, and now, they spilled out in a rush.

Corrin’s eyes widened. “What?”

“You heard me. You’re so beautiful that it kills me.”

She blushed, and he followed suit. “W-well… if just looking at me kills you,” she said, “I guess I shouldn’t push my luck and try to… to kiss you again, huh?”

“I never said that!” Leo almost cringed. _That came out sounding far too eager._ He tried for a calmer tone, but he wasn’t sure he succeeded. “I mean, if you really have the devil’s own luck, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Corrin laughed. “Okay, but don’t blame me if you die.”

“It would be the most pleasant kind of death possible.” Leo realized that they were still crouching in the dirt. As she leaned toward him again, he held up a hand to pause her. “But maybe… we should get out of the dirt first.” He stood up, dusting off the knees of his pants, and extended his hand to help Corrin to her feet.

Their shoulders brushed as they walked back through the forest side by side. Their fingers brushed as they stepped into the palace, and again as they walked past the doors to the great hall, where Leo’s retainers could still be heard bantering. And as Leo and Corrin reached the top of the staircase, their lips brushed again. It was a miracle, small and immense at once—being allowed to lean in and kiss her and feel her kiss him back. He told himself that, even if it became commonplace, he would never stop being grateful for it. He would never stop trying to convey his thoughts—she was incredible, she was strong, she was worthy of Krakenburg and Elysium and more light than Leo could give—through the quietness of the gesture.

He wasn’t sure how they found themselves inside Corrin’s bedroom. Their giddiness must have overridden their logic so that Corrin automatically made her way to her room, and Leo automatically followed her because he was half-drunk on the taste of her lips and was already becoming an addict. It was only once the door closed with a sound loud enough to rattle them that reality set in. For a moment, they just stared at each other, stumbling for words.

“Corrin? Er, is there… any particular reason we’re here?”

She groaned. “Sorry, it was habit! I just—”

“All right,” he said. “That’s a relief—”

“—I mean,” Corrin said with a shaky laugh, “it’s not like I was trying to s-seduce you. That’d be ridiculous—”

“—although don’t get me wrong,” Leo said at the same time. “If you wanted, I—”

“—I-I don’t mean that it’s _ridiculous_ , really. I mean, you’re a really nice-looking man, and I don’t want to imply that you aren’t worth seducing, because you so are. I just—”

“—because I would in a heartbeat. Half a heartbeat, Corrin. Heartbeats… are really poor units of measurement.”

They stared at each other for a moment, then exploded into laughter, the kind that came on without warning and then left them pink-faced and winded in its aftermath.

“Heartbeats…” Corrin giggled. “As units of…? What was that about?”

Leo raised an eyebrow. “You’re the one who was talking about how I’m absolutely worth seducing.”

“I-I meant…” Her flush deepened. “Be quiet!”

She launched herself at him. Before Leo realized what was happening, his back hit Corrin’s mattress with a bounce, and she was tickling him mercilessly. Again. The gale of laughter hit him all over again, shriller and more uncontrollable this time. Leo flailed, trying to grasp her hands to stop their attack.

That worked as well as he’d expected, which was to say, it didn’t work at all. When that failed, Leo shifted his weight suddenly, throwing Corrin off balance. His body was on autopilot again—remembering childhood tickle fights in which one of the only ways to make his (at the time, bigger and stronger) sister relent was to tickle her instead. He threw one knee over her to pinion her in place and attacked.

Corrin’s giggles were even more high-pitched than his own. She was flushed pink and positively adorable. “ _Leooo!_ S-st-stop it!”

He didn’t let up just yet. “Will you stop if I do?”

“That’s not f—” She shrieked with laughter. “Okay, okay, I’ll stop!”

Leo stopped, and Corrin’s giggles died off. And then, he realized the boldness of their position. His knees were planted on either side of Corrin’s hips, and she was lying flat on her back amidst a tangle of bedsheets. And there was that pang of desire again, an irrepressible ember threatening to burst into flames. It was obvious to anyone with any observational skills that he wanted her. Maybe even obvious to Corrin. _Damn it._

He rolled off her, so abruptly that he nearly fell off the bed. Leo twisted around, his fingers snagging in her bedsheets to rescue himself. “I-I’m sorry. That was not intentional, I promise. I…”

He realized that she was laughing again, and this time, tickling wasn’t to blame. “Aww, Leo. You don’t have to apologize.” Her eyes narrowed, an impish smile dancing across her lips. “What was it you said earlier? That we could always try it again?”

Electricity jolted down his back, bright and hot. He wanted to pin her down against her mattress again and kiss her senseless and feel the heat of her skin against his until he was an inferno. But he also kind of wanted to faint at the mere thought that Corrin could be thinking along the same lines.

“Corrin,” he gasped, tugging the sheets up into his lap (just in case Corrin’s observational skills had actually improved). “I-I was talking about kissing then!”

“I’m sorry,” she said, although she didn’t look like it. “I was just teasing you, Leo. I could never be so forward talking about something like that…. Anyway, it’s not like we’re married or even engaged yet….”

“Yet?”

Corrin ducked her head. “I-I mean, you did say that’s why you brought me here to begin with. To marry me. I assumed that was something… that you still wanted.”

“I… I do,” he said. “ _You_ do?”

“Well, yeah,” said Corrin. She lifted her eyes to meet his, and her beauty truly was enough to kill him. “I didn’t eat the Underworld’s food so we could kiss a couple of times, have a tickle fight, and never look at each other again.”

A smile spread across his face. When his head was clearer, he’d worry again about what she had done in eating the fruit, but for the moment, all he could hear was his heartbeat in his ears and the fact that that Corrin wanted him to be her husband.

“In that case…” His expression grew serious. He reached across Corrin’s rumpled sheets until he found her hand and grasped it. “Corrin? This isn’t exactly what I planned… for so many reasons. But I really am madly in love with you, and I don’t see that ever going away.” He chuckled. “Even when I tried to make my feelings go away, they wouldn’t listen. So… would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

Corrin’s eyes glimmered with tears that didn’t fall. “Yes, Leo. Of course.”

“Thank you.” He hesitated. “Before I realized that you didn’t know about the engagement… I got you a ring. It’s buried in my dresser drawer right now, but if you’d like, I can get it for you.”

He started to stand up from the mattress, but Corrin squeezed his hand and dragged him back down. “Nope. You can’t leave yet.”

He noted the glint in her eyes, and he smiled. “Why not?”

“Because,” said Corrin as she twined her arms around him, “I-I haven’t tested my luck yet. Remember?”

Leo opened his mouth to retort and was cut off by Corrin’s lips. Normally, he might have been upset that he didn’t get to use the one-liner he was preparing, but these were extenuating circumstances. Those circumstances being: Corrin’s mouth, still stained and sweet with pomegranate juice; Corrin’s fingertips digging into the fabric of his shirt; Corrin’s warmth seeping into his skin; just… Corrin.

He returned her kiss hungrily and curled his hands in her hair. It felt like silk between his fingers, cool to the touch as opposed to the delicious heat of her lips. A soft sound escaped her throat, melting against his mouth, and Leo’s blood caught fire. He wanted to hear that sound again. And of course, Leo accomplished whatever he set his mind to do.

It was around this point that he accepted, without a shadow of uncertainty, that this was truly happening. This was real. He was Corrin’s, and Corrin was his. She felt the same things for him that he felt for her.

And as it turned out, she really did have the devil’s luck, in great measure.

* * *

In the sleepy hours of the morning, the mirror in Leo’s bedchamber lit up. For the first time in an eternity, one of Camilla’s calls had actually gone through to its intended recipient. The mirror glowed and pealed to signal the incoming call.

Of course, Leo wasn’t actually in his room to notice it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't let that last line fool you--they probably did not do the thing. (They're sinners, but they're also pretty flipping awkward... in case you hadn't noticed.) However, it is, in fact, quite possible to kiss for hours on end. I know, because I've tested that hypothesis! For science, of course. Spoiler alert: good relationships are actually made up of 50% ridiculous silliness.
> 
> Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed! I decided to just go ahead and upload it so you wouldn't be left hanging 'til tomorrow. :)


	18. Light's Sacrifice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aboveground, tensions between the gods of Nohr and Hoshido are getting worse. Something has to be done.

War was simmering on the peak of Mount Krakenburg, and it seemed that Elise could do nothing to stop it. Xander and Ryoma wouldn’t stop arguing, glaring at each other as if they were already crossing blades on the battlefield again. And after Camilla returned to the mountain—with Takumi in tow—things only grew worse. Ryoma and Hinoka demanded that she call off the winter that was ravaging their lands.

“I would love to,” Camilla said. Her eyes narrowed. “As soon as I get my Corrin back.” Her arm hovered around Takumi’s shoulders, and Elise honestly didn’t know what that was about. Apparently Camilla had adopted him or something?

“Yours?” Hinoka’s brows furrowed. “The girl you keep calling Corrin is actually our sister, not yours!”

This revelation did nothing to abate Camilla’s icy anger. And it did nothing to relieve the tensions between the Nohrian and Hoshidan gods. Elise, Sakura, and Azura watched the rest of their families fighting, but their pleas couldn’t get them to stop.

_Why won’t they stop?_

Nohr could not afford to go to war with Hoshido again. The first time, it had been devastating. Lands were decimated, and thousands of innocent lives were lost. Elise had tried, but she couldn’t heal everyone. She remembered the agony that crept over her siblings’ faces as the conflict wore away at their souls. She remembered Corrin’s nightmares after everything was over, and her own, and the way they had struggled for years to restore peace to the battle-ravaged continent.

If Nohr and Hoshido collapsed into another war, all of Elise and Corrin’s efforts would have been for nothing.

_And this time…_ Elise sobbed as she paced around her room in thought. She’d hardly slept in days. _This time, everything’s even worse than last time._ Because this time, she knew the Hoshidan gods—not as enemies, but as people. She and Sakura had become close friends. What if they had to stare at each other across the battlefield again?

And even worse—this time, Elise’s family was fracturing. Xander didn’t yell about it like Ryoma and Hinoka had, but he was upset with Camilla for refusing to call an end to the winter. Camilla wanted to _kill_ Leo. Leo had… had stolen Corrin away into the Underworld. These shards of resentment and pain were blade-sharp, and Elise didn’t know if they could be pieced together again, if her family could ever be salvaged.

An inaudible shout came from outside Elise’s window. She threw open her lacy curtains and peered out into the lawn, and the breath left her lungs like she’d just been dealt a killing blow.

Xander and Ryoma. Scowling and shouting at each other. Their hands on the hilts of their swords. The rest of their families stood around them, and Sakura and Azura were obviously pleading with them—again—but the oldest brothers wouldn’t listen. As Elise watched, her heartbeat skittering in her chest, they drew their divine blades from their sheaths.

_No._ A teardrop trickled down Elise’s cheek, leaving a cold trail across her skin. _No! There has to be something that I can do…._ She was the goddess of peace. The divine incarnation of harmony. She had to do something to stop this war before it shattered everyone she cared about, all over again.

She couldn’t lose her family forever. Not like this. She refused to lose them, or her friends. Elise _refused_ to let them kill each other.

She ripped herself away from the window and took off running, as fast as her legs would carry her. It was as if her body had sprouted wings. She sprinted down the hallway and jetted down the staircase, her pigtails fluttering like streamers, her heart hammering in her throat. Tears burst from her eyes, making her almost blind—except she could finally see it. How to fix everything. How to save her family and Nohr and the peace. She hurtled through the doors, out onto the lawn.

Xander and Ryoma didn’t seem to notice Elise as she rushed toward them. Their swords were held high, immovable towers ready to carve up the heavens. They glinted under the golden light of Mount Krakenburg. Camilla, Azura, Sakura, Hinoka, and Takumi looked on in silence. Apparently, even Sakura had given up hope of healing the rift between their families.

Elise made out Xander’s voice first, warped with pain and anger. “The time for talking is over! Lay down your sword—or you’ll die where you stand!”

Ryoma shifted into an offensive stance, his sword raised to fight. “You want a rematch, godling? So be it!”

Elise’s breath came hard and fast as she ran. _They’re going to hate this._ Her heart was heavy, but her head felt weightless. Xander lifted his blade high, echoing Ryoma’s stance, and hot tears bled down her cheeks. _I won’t lose them! I can’t!_

As Elise leaped, Camilla’s eyes found her youngest sister’s face. Her lips parted in horror, and Elise heard the beginnings of a scream before—

Pain gouged into her back, and icy shock jolted her system. The breath was hammered from her lungs as she hit the ground. Elise felt the world go still around her. Shades of gold and white blurred before her eyes, before Xander crouched in front of her, his face pale and taut.

“Elise! No…”

Other faces swarmed around the edges of her vision. Liquid heat was seeping through her chest—so… so much of it—and she made out Camilla’s face, so near that her hair pooled against Elise’s cheek. “Darling? No. Elise, no. Wh-why…?”

Elise’s voice was weak. “Stop…” Cold pain speared through her with every heartbeat. Something was irreparably damaged inside her, and she knew it. Knew what it meant. And yet… at least her family wouldn’t be broken beyond fixing. She met Camilla’s eyes, and then Xander’s, pleading. “Stop fighting. The world… d-doesn’t need any more of it. Can’t take any more of it… We need peace.”

Camilla brushed away a tear from Elise’s cheek, and a choked sound emitted from her mouth. Her gaze snapped back and forth until it settled on Sakura. “Heal her! Heal my sister.”

Sakura rushed into view, already sobbing. But before she could reach for her stave, Elise shook her head weakly. “T-too late. Just promise…” She groaned. “…that you won’t fight anymore. That you’ll make the land peaceful… and warm again.”

She looked into Xander’s face and realized that tears were seeping down his cheeks. Faintly, he nodded, and Camilla followed suit. Their hands cradled her, but Elise could hardly feel them at all. She felt so weak. So small. But as she watched Xander promise and heard Ryoma murmur his assent too, she felt light.

“Don’t worry,” she whispered. “I-I’m going straight to visit Leo and Corrin. I’ll tell Leo… to answer your calls.” She made herself smile. The gesture leeched far too much of her energy. _Speaking_ stole too much of her energy. “I’ll annoy him until he just has t-to listen….”

Tendrils of sleep tugged at her, even as Camilla pleaded with her to open her eyes. And Elise tried to obey. She didn’t want to see her big sister unhappy. But everything was cold and blurry, and everything hurt, and… she couldn’t cling on anymore.

The last thing Elise was aware of, before everything slipped into darkness, was the sound of her family and the Nohrian gods, mourning together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know... After the last chapter, this was just cruel. But hey, at least it's not as sad as in Birthright. Because ~magical afterlife~ and all that. But even so... I really am sorry, guys. My original plans actually _didn't_ include this. But the situation got pretty dire, and Elise did what she thought she had to do. Have I mentioned that I really love Elise? She can be so silly and childish sometimes, but she's also obviously the light of the Nohrian family... and then she goes and does something like this. I cried so much during that chapter of Birthright, I swear.
> 
> On another note, this is the only chapter I'll be able to post this week. I'm going to be out of town from Thursday until Sunday (because convention!), and I don't want to rush the next chapter, so my next update won't be for another week. I'm sorry about that. I'm just dropping all sorts of unpleasant things on you now, aren't I? But don't worry... the next chapter will be more light-hearted. So...
> 
> Hey, I just met you  
> and this is crazy,  
> but here's a chapter,  
> so comment, maybe~?
> 
> ...Sorry, I've always wanted to say that. :)


	19. A Veil Falls Away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rated T for makeouts~ ;)

“Hey, Leo?” Corrin perched on the arm of the lord of the Underworld’s imposing throne, trying to suppress a grin. “Guess what.”

Leo heaved a sigh, a bit too dramatic to be believable. “What? Corrin, my lunch break ends in a minute.”

“I know,” she said, “but that’s not a very good guess.”

“I’m not guessing.” He was still trying to look annoyed with her—trying to lounge against his throne and look aloof, like he was above her silliness—but she wasn’t buying it for a second. Beneath the throne room’s flickering torches, his eyes gleamed like gold.

“Fine, then I’ll just tell you.” She smirked. “Your collar’s crooked.”

“What?” Leo’s hands flurried up to his collar and straightened it, color flooding into his cheeks. “That’s undeniably your fault this time!”

Corrin’s smile grew sheepish, until her face felt the same shade of red as Leo’s looked. Indeed, that was entirely her fault. The rumpled state of Leo’s hair was her doing, too—and she couldn’t deny that she was proud of her handiwork. When the previous evening’s events still felt like a hazy dream, this was a reminder that it was all real—that she had chosen this, and so had Leo.

“You don’t have to look so smug,” he grumbled.

Corrin stepped around to the front of his throne. Her footfalls were a little clumsy on the stone surface of the elevated platform, after she’d been seated on the armrest for so long, but the way Leo’s eyes followed her movements reminded her of what he’d said last night. _“You’re so beautiful that it kills me.”_ As she bent over at the waist so their faces were level, she saw his gaze alight on her mouth.

“I’m just happy because you try to be so calm and rational all the time,” she said. “So seeing you like this… It’s nice. That’s all.”

“Seeing me like what?” Leo asked. He was still trying to sound irritated, but his eyes gave him away. He actually wanted her as much as she’d realized she wanted him. And that made Corrin feel brave.

“Like this,” she whispered, and she kissed him.

It wasn’t like the awkwardness of the first kiss she’d initiated yesterday. This one was less rushed, more practiced. His lips melded with hers, and her fingers wound around his shoulders. She felt the tension drain out of his muscles under her touch. The throne room was dark and completely quiet, aside from the muted sounds of their breathing. It was almost peaceful, almost sleepy. The rhythm of her pulse was slow and steady, and Corrin was content. She was calm.

Calm, until Leo’s hand tugged her softly into his lap. Then, the entire mood shifted. “Content” was no longer the proper word to describe it—the kiss grew heated, sloppy, and her pulse drummed harder against her ribcage. Her fingers knotted in the fabric of his shirt. His mouth was open to her, warm and curious, and she still wanted more.

He might have chuckled and called her greedy if she admitted it out loud, but then, his actions were just as greedy as hers. His hands caressed the slight curve of her waist, and every nerve in her body was awake and standing at sharp attention. She felt him hesitate, his breath stuttering, before his fingers slithered under the hem of her blouse to meet the sensitive skin at the small of her back. She arched. Her knees tightened around his hips. An embarrassing sound slipped out of her, from somewhere low in her throat.

Leo drew away from the kiss, and the corner of his mouth quirked up as he took in her flushed cheeks and gasping breaths. Pride sparked in his eyes.

“Now, who’s the smug one?” Corrin muttered, but it was difficult to sulk when his face was still close, and that wasn’t the only thing. She was still straddling his lap, and her thoughts were a bit less than pure at the moment.

“Me,” said Leo. “But why shouldn’t I be when I have you?” He was almost breathless, but without a hint of shame. Even as his curiosity got the better of him and his slender fingers moved to explore more of the skin under her shirt. Slowly, offering her plenty of time to tell him to stop.

She didn’t, but she did gape at him, at the way his hair glowed in the torchlight. It should not have been possible—to feel both weak and unstoppable, so tethered and yet so free at the same time.

In lieu of words, she kissed him again, which seemed to get her sentiments across. He smiled against her mouth—she was growing to love it when he did that—then lowered his lips to the side of her jaw, trailing slow, methodical kisses down her neck. Corrin’s eyes fluttered closed with a half-stifled moan. If the throne room caught fire, she probably wouldn’t have noticed. She would have mistaken it for the heat coiling low in her stomach.

_Here I was, teasing him for losing his composure, and I’m the one unraveling like this._ But damn it, she didn’t care. Leo’s lips, his hands, his warmth—those were the things that she cared about in this moment. Embarrassment wasn’t one of them.

…Until she heard the doors creak open behind her. “Lord Leo, the chariot is ready. Can you tell me where to find—” Leo’s face jerked away from Corrin’s neck, and his hands freed themselves from under her shirt. She tried to clamber out of his lap, but it was too late. Niles had already spotted them. “… _Oh._ ”

Corrin began apologizing automatically as she rushed to right herself on the stone platform beside Leo’s throne and started readjusting the hem of her shirt. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I…” She stopped. Niles was grinning in a way that made blood rush into her face, to the tips of her ears.

“Well. I did tell Odin that you would end up sitting on Lord Leo’s throne sooner or later, Lady Corrin.”

Leo exhaled through his teeth, a shaky sound, and he shifted in his seat. If Corrin hadn’t known better, she would have assumed that he was trying to use her as a shield between Niles and his own mortified expression. He muttered something, so low that she could barely make it out. “If I sunk into the ground and died right now, do you think I’d have to come back so I could judge my own soul?”

Corrin swatted his arm, not too roughly. “That’s not funny, Leo.”

But a burst of laughter exploded from Niles’s mouth. “Lord Leo, I have to say—I’ve grown quite attached to your lady here.”

Leo’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Niles.”

His retainer laughed again as he sauntered closer to the throne. “Your defensiveness is quite charming, milord, but that’s not what I meant.” He flashed another grin at Corrin. “She just won me fifty gold pieces from Odin.”

“What?” Leo crossed his arms. “Were you betting on me? You know that it’s my job to judge people for their sins, right? I’m adding that to your tally.”

Judging by the fact that Niles’s smile didn’t wane, he didn’t buy Leo’s bluff. “I don’t know—judging by the position I caught you two in when I entered, you’re the one who needs a sin tally. Can you give a man some warning next time? Unless,” he said in a teasing purr, “you wanted me to walk in on you—”

“F-fifty gold?” Corrin interjected shrilly, before Leo could explode with embarrassment. “What was the bet, exactly?”

Niles crossed his arms. “I wagered that the two of you would get your acts together before Odin and I were supposed to take you back to Nohr. Odin didn’t think so. He imagined that Lord Leo would let you leave and come chasing after you later.” He snickered. “He even had a flowery speech prepared for you, milord. With note cards and everything.”

“You’re teasing,” Corrin said.

“I don’t tease, milady.”

Leo cleared his throat. “Yes, you do. Now, if you’re going to stay in here, I’ll need both of you to quiet down. My lunch break is over, and I need to get back to work.”

Niles sighed. “All right.”

“Fine,” said Corrin. Maybe she enjoyed teasing Leo, but she was also curious to see his work. She reclaimed her perch on the arm of his throne and leaned down to adjust his collar, which had quite mysteriously gone askew again. “There. Now you look sufficiently lordly.”

He rolled his eyes, trying to hide a smile. “Thanks a lot.”

“You’re welcome,” she giggled.

But as Leo called the first soul into his throne room for judgment, Corrin’s laughter died in her throat. The last traces of warmth vanished from her bloodstream as her focus zeroed in on the tiny, far too familiar figure approaching Leo’s throne.

_Elise._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was also rated NSFN--Not Safe From Niles. Mwahahaha~ (You knew it was bound to happen eventually.)
> 
> Also: so you know that convention I was going to, the one that kept me from updating last Friday? So while I was there, I actually got to meet Max Mittleman. You know, Leo's English VA? Yeah. He was super nice. I definitely did not tell him about this fic, though. That would've been awkward.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Even if Odin's wallet did not. :)


	20. A Hand Reaches Through

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elise is precious, Iago is a douchecanoe, and other revelations.

She was hazy and ethereal as she stood in front of the throne. Instinctively, Corrin alighted from the arm of Leo’s throne and ran to her. A small voice in the back of her mind tried to stop her, but Corrin didn’t heed it.

“Elise!” she exclaimed. “What are you doing here?” She knew what Elise was doing here. Leo had summoned the first soul in line to enter his throne room, and Elise had appeared. Elise was _flickering_ , like candlelight. But there must be some sort of mistake, Corrin decided as she rushed to hug Elise. Corrin’s mind had to be playing tricks on her. Because there was no chance that Elise could be…

Corrin’s arms passed right through Elise’s body when she tried to embrace her.

An odd sound escaped Corrin’s throat, half choke, half wail. The room spun around her, and her knees struck the stone floor with a jolt of pain. She heard a scream. It was hers. Elise was dead. The world shattered.

“Corrin, I’m sorry,” Elise began. At least her voice was still the same—buoyant and sweet. She reached toward her out of habit, but her features pulled into a tight frown as her fingers passed through Corrin’s shoulder.

Corrin turned back to the throne, to Leo. “Why…?” Her breath was gone. Her mouth didn’t want to form words. “Why can’t I touch her? I—I can touch Mother. In Elysium. Why not Elise?”

Leo didn’t answer. His face had gone as white as bone. His eyes were glued to the incorporeal form of their little sister.

“It changes after the judgment,” Niles offered, his voice muted. “Their forms become more solid then.”

Rigidly, Leo rose from his throne. He stepped gingerly off the platform and crouched down in front of Elise. He still didn’t speak. Corrin wasn’t even sure he was breathing.

“I had to,” Elise said. “They wouldn’t listen. They wouldn’t stop fighting, no matter what I said! It was the only thing that could get through them, other than bringing you back, and I didn’t know how to do that.” She shot Leo an unreadable look. “Because _somebody_ wouldn’t answer his mirror.”

“Wh-what do you mean?” Leo’s voice was a rasp, but his confusion—and his subsequent desire to find answers—brought a hint of life back to the hue of his skin. “My mirror isn’t broken. The problem was on Mount Krakenburg’s end.”

Elise shook her head, her pigtails lashing and flickering in and out of sight. “Nuh-uh. Camilla left you a billion messages, she said. And Xander left at least a couple, too.”

“But… I never received a single one. I haven’t heard anything from Camilla, and Xander has only communicated with me in letters.”

“Letters?” she said. “Big Brother didn’t mention anything about any letters. What did they say?”

Leo glanced back to his retainer. “Niles, can you bring Xander’s letters for me? They’re in the top drawer of my dresser.” Niles nodded and left the throne room. “Now,” said Leo, “back up. Elise… what happened?”

“Nope,” said Elise. “I’m not telling you any more until I can get my hug from Corrin.”

“But…” His voice faltered again. “I’ll have to judge you then.”

“Oh, right.” She winced. “I don’t wanna be judged by you. You’ll be too harsh. Can Corrin judge me instead?”

Corrin was still staring at Elise, watching her flicker. _This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening._

Vaguely, she heard Leo’s answer to their sister’s question. “I’m not sure. She doesn’t technically have any ruling power here, yet—but…”

She couldn’t breathe. _No, no, not Elise._ Elise was joy and light. Elise was _life_. She couldn’t…

“Corrin, Corrin, it’s okay.” Elise leaned toward Corrin’s face. “Remember—deep breaths? In… Out. Do you need me to count?”

It was embarrassing, but Corrin nodded. So Elise counted in her most soothing voice while Corrin took slow, deep breaths. Leo’s hand found her shoulder, and his thumb rubbed soothing circles against it, chasing away the cold.

“It’s okay,” Corrin said. “I’m okay.” Guilt pounded in her head. “Why are you even worrying about me? You—you died, Elise. You said… you had to. Why?”

Elise explained everything—about Corrin’s two families fighting, and Camilla unleashing a brutal winter on the mortal lands. Niles returned with Leo’s letters in the middle of her story, and he leaned against the wall and listened silently along with Corrin.

Leo kept shaking his head and murmuring, “I can’t believe they imagined I’d do that.” After the third time, Corrin reached over and laid her hand on top of his. If Elise noticed, she didn’t comment.

When she finished by telling them how she’d stopped Xander and Ryoma’s blades, Corrin couldn’t be quiet any longer. “Elysium. You’re going to Elysium, no questions about it.”

Elise’s flickering stopped. She glanced down at her hands as her skin seemed to brighten, until she glowed like a goddess again. Then—she tackled Corrin to the floor with a squeal, flinging her arms around her.

“I was so, so worried about you! When Xander told me what happened…” She shook her head, her pigtails tickling Corrin’s face. “But you’re okay! And now, we can spend time together again! And I’m going to…” She stopped, giggling. “ _Elise_ -ium.”

“Can you get off the floor?” Leo asked. When he’d stood up, she wasn’t sure. “The two of you are rolling around like fools.”

Corrin helped Elise to her feet and raised her eyebrows at Leo. “You didn’t have a problem with doing that before.”

If looks could kill, Leo’s scowl might have incinerated her. But the force of his blush meant that he would have burned up right along with her.

Niles smirked, still leaning casually against the wall. “Oh my.”

“Wonderful,” Leo said under his breath. “You’ve rubbed off on her.”

“I’ve done no such thing,” said Niles. “You, on the other hand…”

“Niles!” he said sharply, gesturing to Elise. His younger sister was beaming at Corrin and looking exceptionally innocent. He sighed. “C-could you just give me the letters?”

Niles handed them over promptly, and Corrin watched as Leo read them, concern creasing his forehead.

“This doesn’t add up at all,” he said, folding the papers up and slipping them into his pocket. “I _know_ I never got those messages. And it took incredibly powerful magic to craft those mirrors—it was a challenge even for me. Not just anyone could interfere with them. I’m not sure if anyone could—”

“Lord Leo, I do apologize for the interruption, but I just had to see you.”

Corrin whirled toward the sound of the new voice. The spectral figure of Iago, the god of treachery, drifted into the throne room. Her pulse pounded. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

Iago’s visible eye narrowed. “It’s just as I said, Lady Corrin—I’m here to see Lord Leo.”

“Not that. _How_ are you here?” she amended. Only a god could kill another god, and Iago was her family’s ally. “Did the gods from Hoshido…?”

“No. It was your sister.”

“What?” said Elise. “No, it wasn’t! I haven’t even seen you in forever!” She didn’t look especially disappointed by that fact.

“I was referring to Lady Camilla,” Iago explained. “In a rage, she turned her powers on me, freezing me from within.” He shivered. “It was a slow and agonizing death, milord.”

Leo frowned pensively. “You’re here for judgment, then?”

“Yes. And I’m so glad that it’s you who will give it to me, Lord Leo. After all, I’ve known you since you were a child.”

“That’s right,” said Leo with a smile that struck Corrin as uncanny. “Our long history will make it a lot less uncomfortable when I rummage around in your mind, won’t it?”

For the briefest of instants, dread flashed across Iago’s translucent face, before he smiled and bowed low at Leo’s feet. “Yes, of course, milord.”

Corrin realized that her brother—her _not_ -brother; oh, that was going to be a difficult habit to break—had already put together the pieces that she was still fumbling with. He was still smiling politely, but anyone who knew him well could have deciphered that he was upset. No, more than upset. Hot coals glowed behind Leo’s eyes.

“Iago,” he said, “you don’t really want me to do that, do you?” His tone was still level, but as he spoke, his smile waned. “I’ll be blunt: I’m not exactly keen on the idea of sifting through that wretched cesspit you call a mind. So it would be nice if you just gave us your own account of what you’ve done. And make it honest—I can still check.”

This time, Iago wasn’t able to conceal his fear. He rose from the stone floor and regarded Leo with a wide eye. “I—I did it for Nohr. All of it.”

“All of what?” said Leo. “Tell me what you’ve wrought, or I’ll damn you to the Fields of Punishment and be finished with it.”

Iago blanched. “I… I sent you those letters from Lord Xander. And I intercepted the mirror messages from Mount Krakenburg so they couldn’t reach you, Lord Leo.”

Leo’s voice was quiet, but not soft. “What?”

Beside him, Corrin’s heart was hammering as she absorbed this information—what Iago had done, and what it meant. What Iago’s treachery had inflicted on the world.

“B-but I did it for you, milord!” Iago said. He crouched down at Leo’s feet again, looking like he was on the verge of kissing his boots. “When Lord Xander tried to tell Lady Camilla about the marriage, she was livid! She nearly killed me! But I knew that you wanted Lady Corrin, so I deceived you. I knew you would never take her unless you thought she had agreed to the idea!”

Leo didn’t say what he thought of that. He didn’t have to.

“It was for your happiness, Lord Leo,” Iago continued, his voice growing shrill, “and Nohr’s future! Nohr needed to war with Hoshido again so we could do what we failed to do the first time—conquer them! Crush them!” He obviously saw the silent fury on Leo’s face, because he grew even paler, if that was possible. “P-please, Lord Leo, spare me! As wise as you are… surely you understand that my intentions were pure! I throw myself upon your mercy!”

Leo still didn’t respond. His gaze fell on Elise, who was watching their exchange with round eyes. Corrin looked at their sister, too—their dead little sister’s spirit—and her heart sunk.

_All of this… could have been avoided. Camilla hurling the land into a bitter winter, Nohr and Hoshido nearly going to war and bringing calamity on the continent again… and Elise…_ Corrin’s fingers trembled at her sides, but she wasn’t cold. A flash of anger seared through her blood and made her hands clench into white-knuckled fists. _Elise wouldn’t have had to sacrifice herself! None of this would have happened—if not for Iago._

She took a long stride forward until she stood in front of Iago, positioned between the god of treachery and her loved ones. “Y-you… You did all of this. You’re the reason my family was torn apart…. Y-you’re the reason Elise is dead! How dare you?”

Iago’s stare was cold. “Oh no, I’m _so_ afraid,” he murmured, too low for the others to hear. “Berated by the trembling, pathetic little goddess of love…” He scoffed. “I’m positively petrified.”

_Elise… and the rest of my family… None of this would’ve happened…._ Rage still coursed through Corrin, but suddenly, her voice was clear and calm. “I’m the goddess of choice, actually.”

The walls of the throne room were high around her, and the black stone pillars loomed above her as they hoisted up the ceiling. It was dark, save for the sparse torches hanging on the walls. But Corrin wasn’t afraid of the Underworld. And why should she be? This was the place she had chosen. This dark palace—and this dark throne room—these were the choices she’d made, the home she had claimed.

“And do you know what else I am, Iago? The queen of hell.”

Behind her, a quiet sound of surprise left Leo’s throat. She heard Elise inhale sharply. But Corrin’s voice didn’t falter. Not now. Iago had deliberately fractured her family. Out of love for Nohr or his own thirst for power, she didn’t know—and it didn’t matter. No one, _no one_ did this to her family without penance.

“Your actions killed Elise! And you tried to start another war that could have destroyed us all!” She stepped backward without breaking eye contact with the pale-faced Iago, regaining her calm as she took a seat. “You made it so my brother and sister’s calls wouldn’t go through. So, Iago… when nobody hears you when you call for help in the Fields of Punishment… There’s nobody to blame but yourself.”

The throne room was deadly silent. Iago’s mouth was open, but nothing was coming out—no pleas, no threats, nothing. He stared, and Leo, Elise, and Niles stared too, as Corrin sat with her shoulders straight on the towering black throne of the Underworld.

“Well? That’s it,” she said. “That’s your sentence. So get out of here.” She glanced over at Leo, her expression twisting with confusion. “Is there a magic word, or…?”

“I’ve got this,” said Niles. He stepped forward, took the now-solid Iago by the arm, and marched him out of the throne room.

“L-Lord Leo!” Iago protested. “Save me! I did this for you! Tell her that she can’t wield that kind of power! Sh-she’s just—” The doors shut behind them with a resounding thud.

Corrin was left alone with Leo and Elise, and a relieved sigh tumbled out of her mouth. The heated courage of the moment was draining out of her system now. Her legs felt liquefied, and she was too afraid to stand up from the throne.

“Corrin, that was amazing!” Elise exclaimed. “You were all _bam! ‘Take this, Iago!’ Pow! ‘I’m the queen, and I’m done with your nonsense!’_ ” She beamed. “You were so cool!”

Corrin laughed weakly. Her gaze drifted over to Leo, who was gawking at her as if she’d sprouted a second head—with horns. “W-was that too harsh?” she asked quietly.

His eyebrows arched, and a surprised laugh stumbled out of his mouth. “What? Corrin, no. That wasn’t… That was perfect,” he said. “I just didn’t think…”

“That I had it in me?” she finished.

“No,” said Leo. “I just never thought you’d let it out.” He looked stunned, but the kind of stunned that he usually looked after a kiss, not the “you’ve just demolished my opinion of you” kind of stunned. “Damn it,” he muttered. “Where’s that blasted ring when I need it?”

Elise perked up. “Ring? What ring?”

He reddened. “N-nothing!”

“It’s obviously something, or else you wouldn’t have said it, Leo!” she chirped. She wrapped her arms around Leo’s stomach and squeezed, swaying back and forth with enough energy that she nearly yanked her brother off his feet. “Tell me!”

“I—I told you already,” Leo spluttered. “It’s nothing!”

“Tell me, tell me, tell me!”

Corrin just sat there and watched them, a grin bursting across her face. Her chest was warm again, but not with anger. As Elise tried to pry an answer out of Leo—and Leo got flustered and pretended he didn’t know what she was talking about—Corrin was hit with a feeling of peace. A feeling that she hadn’t experienced since she’d learned about the extent of the troubles aboveground: _We can resolve this. We can all be a family again, just like before._

Well… not _just_ like before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was another of my favorites to write. Because angry!Corrin. It's always the nice ones you have to worry about, because when they get truly angry, they get _dangerous_. And of course, it was also nice to let her and Leo finally find out what's been going on. Now, hopefully everything can be resolved. (Hopefully? It had better be resolved. I've only got 2 more chapters planned!)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! And by the way, if you haven't heard about the FE: Fates drama CDs, look them up. Because if you're reading this, there's a good chance you ship Leo/Corrin, at which point one of those CDs might be pertinent to your interests~! (Seriously, I'm still screaming a bit over it.)


	21. A Double-Edged Blade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Corrin calls everyone together to talk about what's been going on. Tears ensue. Also: "No fighting at the friendship table!"

“Xander, Camilla… this is Corrin. I’m here with Leo and Elise. She told us what happened. She’s… she’s fine. Listen, there has been a massive misunderstanding. I’m all right. I’m safe. And I’m here of my own accord. Big Sister, I need you to call off this winter for me, please. And… can you come here, to the Underworld? Bring Azura, too, and the gods from Hoshido if they’re still there with you.” A quiet sigh, but the contented sound of it brought tears springing to Camilla’s eyes. “There’s a lot of catching up we need to do.”

* * *

As soon as they received Corrin’s message, the gods of Nohr and Hoshido journeyed to the Underworld. Elise met them at the gates, and Xander, Camilla, Azura, and Sakura rushed to embrace her.

While they were still fussing over her, Corrin and Leo arrived. Ryoma, Hinoka, and Takumi noticed them first, and Hinoka drew Corrin into a tight hug. “Kamui,” she said into her shoulder. “I missed you so much!”

What followed was a stumbling conversation in which the Hoshidan siblings tried to ease into the subject of Corrin’s parentage, only to discover that she had already been informed.

“Wait,” said Takumi quietly. “You… talked to Mother? Here?”

Corrin nodded. “Yes. She’s in Elysium. If you want, I could take you to—”

“Darling!” A purple blur plowed into her, almost knocking her off her feet, and Camilla wrapped Corrin in her arms, planting kisses against her hair. Tears brimmed in her eyes. “Corrin, you have no idea how worried I was about my dear little sister! Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“No, Camilla, I’m fine.” She wanted to say more—to explain about the misunderstanding, about Leo, and maybe gently lead into the revelation that she had eaten the pomegranate—but before she could speak, the rest of her family had clustered around her.

“Corrin, you’re all right,” Azura breathed. “When you disappeared, I thought we might never see you again.”

Xander squeezed Corrin’s shoulders. “Little goddess,” he said, with a smile that stripped years of worry from his face. “We missed you.”

“Group hug!” Elise shouted, and she practically tackled the four of them to the ground with the force of her hug.

Corrin was surrounded by affection and warmth, so potent that it was nearly smothering—literally. But she didn’t struggle away. She knew how much her family must have worried for her, so she smiled and let the hugs continue even after it started to get suffocating.

“Leo,” Camilla said over Corrin’s shoulder.

Corrin glanced back and saw Leo tense. “Yes?” His voice was quiet. She didn’t blame him. After all, Camilla had temporarily frozen the mortal lands in her overwhelming fury—fury that she’d felt toward Leo.

But Camilla’s gaze softened, unshed tears still glimmering in her eyes, and she beckoned him closer. “This is a family hug. Why aren’t you joining in, darling?”

Elise darted forward, grabbed him by the wrist, and tugged him into the group. “Now, it’s a real, official family hug!” she giggled and hugged Leo. Corrin smiled and wrapped an arm around his waist.

“Why are _you_ hugging me now?” he asked. “You’ve been here for weeks.”

“Didn’t you hear Elise?” she said. “It’s an official group hug. That means that we’ve got to hug you. I don’t make the rules, Leo. What, am I not allowed to touch you now?” That last part, she said under her breath.

“Nnn… Whatever.” Leo shut his eyes and sighed as he was enveloped in his family’s stranglehold of affection, but Corrin knew it was a contented sigh.

After greetings were exchanged, the gods retreated into the great hall to have a much-needed discussion. Leo sat at his place at the head of the table and explained Iago’s treachery: how he had written false letters to Leo and intercepted his responses, and how Iago had interfered with the mirrors so the siblings couldn’t communicate. The others asked questions, and he filled the gaps with answers to the best of his ability. Finally, everything was out in the open.

_Well…_ Corrin bit her lip. _Almost everything._

“I’m so happy that this little misunderstanding is finally cleared up,” said Camilla. She smiled across the table. “Now, we can finally bring Corrin home to Mount Krakenburg with us!”

Takumi frowned. “Not all the time, I hope. She’s our sister. She should be able to visit us on Mount Shirasagi.”

“No fighting at the friendship table!” Elise said.

Camilla glanced at Takumi and crossed her arms. “But we’ve been dying to let my darling Corrin come home with us. For years and years, we’ve waited for this moment.”

“So have we!”

“I’ve changed my mind,” said Camilla. “You aren’t my little brother anymore.”

“But I—I was never your brother to begin with!” Takumi stammered.

She smirked. “But… you’re still so cute when you’re flustered. Hmm… Takumi, darling, I may have to keep you around after all.”

“Wh-what?”

Corrin leaned over to whisper in Leo’s ear. “Wait, I’m confused. Is Camilla flirting with somebody that she was calling her brother two seconds ago?”

“Corrin, love, there was so much hypocrisy oozing off that sentence that I’m drowning in it.” Leo paused, his smile slipping. “Do you want me to tell them?”

“No,” she said, “I should do it. It was my decision.” She sucked in a deep breath and raised her voice until it refracted off the walls of the great hall. “Everyone, can you listen for a minute? There’s something else that I haven’t told you.”

The table went silent. Corrin’s eyes settled on each of them in turn. Camilla, Xander, and her Hoshidan siblings, all watching her intently. _They have no idea yet._ Everyone except Elise, who did have an idea already. Leo had finally caved under the pressure and told her. She’d smacked him, thinking he was teasing her, but once she’d understood that he was telling the truth—and once she’d had time to calm down and stop shrieking—she’d seemed rather happy. After all, it meant that Corrin would be able to hang out with her in the Underworld whenever Elise wanted.

But she doubted that her other siblings would be so elated. “You know how Leo told you that I’ve been surviving here by eating the roses that I brought with me from Nohr? Well, that’s true, but um… Not too long ago…” She hesitated. Leo squeezed her hand under the table. “I ate the food of the Underworld.”

Several cries of “what?” sounded from around the table.

“Leo, darling…” Camilla was still smiling, but the expression had lost its warmth. “Tell me that she’s joking.”

“It wasn’t Leo’s fault,” said Corrin. “He tried to stop me. It was entirely my decision. And…” She channeled her determination into her voice. “And I don’t regret it.”

“But Kamui,” Ryoma began, “it’s so dismal down here. Surely you would rather come back to Hoshido with us—where it’s always bright.”

“It’s bright on Mount Krakenburg, too,” Xander said.

“Listen,” said Corrin, before her oldest brothers could argue. “There’s no point in trying to convince me. I already sealed my decision in stone when I ate the fruit. I want to be here.”

“Tell them whyyy,” Elise whispered with a budding grin.

Corrin felt Leo’s fingers stiffen—with embarrassment, or the fear that he was about to be murdered by a vengeful army of Corrin’s siblings, she wasn’t sure.

“Because I love Leo,” she said firmly. “And I’m going to marry him. And I’m going to stay with him.”

“And me!” Elise added. “Minus the marrying part.”

Corrin smiled. “Of course.”

But the rest of her family was still frowning. “B-but…” Sakura began, teary-eyed, and Corrin’s heart quaked.

“But we’ve spent so long looking for you.”

“I thought you were going to come back with us!”

“Wait, wasn’t Lord Leo raised as your brother?” (At that one, Leo shot Takumi a scowl across the table.)

“And you think that you can never come back aboveground with us again?” Camilla asked.

“That’s what everyone has always said,” Corrin told her. “If you eat the food of the Underworld, you’re bound to it forever.”

“Bound to it…” Camilla shook her head. “But what about the ties that bind you to the rest of us? Do they count for nothing against this Underworld magic, or whatever it is? Because I couldn’t bear for you to never walk with me through the halls of our palace, darling. There were so many things that I longed to show you….”

Corrin mulled over her words. _The ties that bind…_ Suddenly, she squeezed Leo’s hand. “Elysium,” she told him.

He nodded. “I can’t believe I never thought of that. The goddess of prophecy would know for certain.”

Sakura lifted her head. “M-Mother?”

“Yes,” said Corrin. “Mother.”

* * *

And so it was that the children of the god of darkness and the god of light stood before Lady Mikoto and made a pact. During the spring and summer months, the goddess Corrin was free to visit both of her families, in Nohr and Hoshido, and enjoy the warmth and beauty of the world above. But since she was still bound to the Underworld—by the fruit, but also by love and choice—she would return to the land of the dead during the autumn and winter.

“Any particular reason why you’re asking for the warmer months, sister?” Leo asked.

“Because otherwise, I may envelop the summer lands in ice again while I mourn the loss of my Corrin to my greedy little brother.” Camilla chuckled at the dread on his face. “Oh, Leo, I’m only teasing you. I just want Corrin to be able to enjoy the seasons when the world is in bloom. Because it’s such a pity that she never got to before.”

“Hoshido is beautiful in the springtime,” Sakura said with a gentle smile. “You’re going to love it, Kamui—C-Corrin.”

“And since you’ll be here when it’s coldest,” said Elise, “Leo and I will have to keep you warm! We can all snuggle up in front of the fire!”

A strange look crossed Leo’s face, as if he was envisioning a future in which he never got any time alone with his future wife, ever again. Corrin patted his shoulder in sympathy. But Elise’s comment made the others smile. Xander and Sakura were both hovering close beside her, and Camilla had pulled her into a permanent hug, as if she was afraid Elise would disappear if she let go.

“Can we join in too, milord?” Niles asked. Odin giggled.

“That sounds fun!” Elise exclaimed.

Leo crossed his arms. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because, silly,” Elise said, “hugs make people happy! So we’ll have to snuggle all the time, okay, Leo? In the spring and summer, too.” Corrin had the sudden urge to hug her again.

Leo blinked, the frown melting off his face. “Elise…”

“And,” said Xander, clearing his throat, “we’ll see if there is anything we can do to make your work easier on you. If there’s any way to arrange for you to take some time off every once in a while, so you can visit with the rest of us on Mount Krakenburg.”

“In the meantime,” Camilla said, “we’ll make an effort to visit more often than we used to.” She smiled over at Leo. “And not only to see Corrin, you know.”

Leo blinked harder, faster. Like he was trying to bat away the beginnings of tears. He pressed his lips together until they were pale, in an effort to keep the emotion in.

“Of course not, Camilla!” Elise exclaimed. “You also want to see me!”

She chuckled. “Of course I do, my sweet Elise.”

Leo pretended to sulk. “You’re such a pain….”

Lady Mikoto, enveloped in the arms of her children, smiled tenderly. And Corrin smiled too, as she looked around the flowering field at the sunlit faces of the people she loved. Her heart felt warmer than the sensation of the Elysian sun beaming down on her shoulders. “Everyone,” she said, almost sheepish, “can I ask for a favor?”

“Of course.” The words came from several people at once.

“Can we have another family hug? With… with my whole family?”

For a second, the field was quiet and still. Xander frowned, and Ryoma and Takumi exchanged a skeptical look, and Corrin was afraid that she had asked too much, too soon. There was no way that the scars that the two sets of gods had inflicted on each other could be erased overnight.

But Elise and Sakura giggled and hurried to hug Corrin, embracing each other as well. Azura and Mikoto came next with quiet smiles, and slowly, the others followed suit. Their arms were stiff and tentative at first, their faces taut and unsure. But slowly, gradually, they relaxed as Corrin’s happiness spread to warm the rest of the group.

Of course, the peace couldn’t last forever. “Ouch!” Takumi exclaimed, jabbing a finger at Leo’s chest. “You stepped on my foot!”

“I did not,” said Leo.

“Kamui, tell your fake brother… fiancé… jerk to stop lying!”

“Insufferable,” Leo muttered. “Truly insufferable.” But as Corrin, Elise, and Sakura burst into fresh giggles, they couldn’t help but smile, too.

Camilla wrapped an arm around Hinoka with a smile. “You know, now that I’m up close… your face is rather cute,” she purred. “Somewhat similar to Corrin’s. Fully adorable and quite pretty.”

Hinoka flushed indignantly. “Wh-what am I even supposed to say to that?”

“Well, a ‘thank you’ would be polite.”

Meanwhile, Xander and Ryoma had been smashed against each other by the tangle of limbs. “Strange, isn’t it?” said Ryoma. “The last time we were this close, we were trying to end each other’s lives.”

“And now…” Xander chuckled as his gaze flickered onto each of his younger siblings. “Here we are in one of Corrin’s ‘family hugs.’”

Ryoma nodded. “You know, if my little sister truly intends to marry your brother, our families really will be bound together.”

“It bodes well for the future of our nations, doesn’t it, Lord Ryoma?”

“It does, Lord Xander.” He smiled. “Although… I would have preferred that your brother asked me for Kamui’s hand first.”

Xander’s eyes lingered on Corrin, her smiling features radiant under the Elysian sunlight as she wrapped her arms around Leo and Takumi and, from the looks of it, chided them both at the same time. “If you think the literal goddess of choice would stand for that, you don’t know her very well.”

Ryoma’s smile saddened. “No. No, I don’t yet.” He squared his shoulders. “But I will.”

Odin catapulted into the group, flinging his arms around as many people as he could reach. “Out of darkness, I spring into action!”

“I’m coming too,” Niles said, chuckling as he squeezed himself into the huddle, right next to his liege and Corrin. “Don’t you two look cozy?”

By the time they all broke apart, everyone was smiling, and Corrin had a quiet revelation. Even if the tension wouldn’t completely dissipate for a while, and even if nothing was going to be the same as it was before… _I think it’s going to be better—for all of us._ No, she didn't merely think it. She would make sure of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the way this chapter ended up devolving into shameless fluff... but let's be honest, each and every one of these kiddos deserves the fluffiest of fluff. And it was just such fun to write.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I did have a more detailed explanation of the whole "ties that bind, how people are able to leave the Underworld" bit in my documents somewhere that I was gonna put in this A/N, but I seem to have misplaced it. But if anyone's really confused, let me know and I can try my best, at least.


	22. The Brand-New Day

It was a simple ceremony and so brief that, with a single blink, one could have missed it. On the day that Corrin was set to leave the Underworld with the others, she and Leo took Xander aside.

“Before I go,” she said, reaching down to entwine her fingers with Leo’s, “can you officiate our marriage?”

“Here and now?” Xander asked. He glanced over their shoulders, even though the corridor was otherwise vacant. “You know Camilla wants to put together a grand ceremony for you.”

“We can have one of those too, later,” Corrin said. “It’s a good idea—we can invite my Hoshidan siblings, and it will be a good way to show the world that we’re all at peace now.” She paused. “But that’s for everyone’s sake. This is just for us,” and Leo nodded.

Xander inclined his head. His features were serious as usual, but his eyes were filled with warmth. “All right. Let’s see if I can remember how these are supposed to go. Leo, do you take Corrin as your spouse, to love for all eternity?”

Leo looked as if Xander had just asked him if he was planning on breathing for the rest of his life. “Of course.”

“Little goddess,” said Xander. “Do you swear the same?”

She squeezed Leo’s fingers and nodded. “Yes.”

“Then it’s official—you’re husband and wife. You can kiss the bride.” He held up a hand. “After I leave.”

Corrin’s stomach sank a bit. “I thought you approved?”

“And I do,” Xander said with a fond smile, and Corrin heard Leo exhale. “As your brother, I’d feel strange watching you kiss anyone. So I’m going to go and find Camilla before I end up getting a new brother-in-law who isn’t already my brother.” He stopped. “That was a strange sentence.”

Corrin giggled, watching Leo in her peripheral vision. “It was,” she said. “But you have a point—you should go check on my little brother.”

“He’s probably in my library,” said Leo as Xander turned to leave. He watched their older brother’s retreating back until he disappeared around a bend in the corridor, then turned back to Corrin. “You know, it’s odd hearing you call Lord Takumi that.”

“What? ‘Little brother?’” she asked. Another giggle slipped out of her mouth, because Xander’s _“you’re husband and wife”_ was still singing in her ears, as melodic as one of Azura’s songs. “Don’t tell me you’re jealous.”

Leo squeezed his eyes shut, removing his hand from her grip and crossing his arms. “Have I ever told you that you’re annoying?”

“Only a hundred times, _little brother_ ,” she said in singsong.

He arched an eyebrow. “In that case, I’ve been going far too easy on you.”

She rose onto her tiptoes and kissed him fleetingly on the mouth. “But you’re going to miss me.”

“I am,” he admitted, and Corrin remembered why she’d decided to ask Xander to marry them before she returned to Nohr with the rest of her family. It was a permanent symbol of the bond that would bring her back to the Underworld again and again—a symbol, like pomegranates, or like the slender golden ring on Corrin’s finger, embedded with gems like ruby seeds.

“I’ll come back on the first day of autumn,” she said, gripping his hands like a promise. “And you know we’ll visit before then. Camilla seems pretty enthusiastic about Elise’s cuddle-pile idea.”

“Of course she does,” said Leo. He bent down and drew Corrin into a longer kiss, his thoughts clear. _Between the two of them, moments like these might be rarer than we’d like._ But in that moment, in the dark stillness of the corridor, Corrin felt consumed by peace.

When they broke apart, she kept her hands on his face and whispered, “I wish I could stay here a little longer.” She didn’t know how to say the rest—that she’d miss him, but she was also afraid, because she was going back to the palace on Mount Krakenburg, and doubts still lingered in the shadowy corners of her mind, hissing that she couldn’t belong.

But Leo seemed to understand, because he frowned. “You do deserve to go to the palace. You aren’t stained, or ruined, and I won’t hear you disagree with me on that point, because I will decimate each and every argument you make.” His voice dropped, and he rubbed his shoulder absently. “Besides, you know that Krakenburg wasn’t always an idyllic paradise. Even if you were somehow tainted—which you are not—you wouldn’t be tracking anything into that palace that wasn’t already there.”

Corrin nodded silently.

“But,” he said, “if it turns out that being there makes you uncomfortable, you could always come back early.”

His smile snuck up on Corrin, nearly knocking the wind out of her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug tight enough to return the favor. For a minute, she just held him, savoring his warmth and his heartbeat and the quiet peace of the hallway around them. “I’m going to miss you too, Leo,” she said into the crook of his neck. She felt him shiver, and mischief sparked in Corrin’s mind. “I will,” she said, so close that her lips brushed feather-lightly against his skin. He tensed, and she almost giggled. “I really, really will. I—”

“Corrin,” said Leo, “you should stop that. Otherwise, I really might steal you away and never let you leave.”

The low cadences of his voice sent lightning down her spine, but it also sent a contented sort of warmth curling and purring in her chest. She pulled away, not even trying to hide a grin, and he shook his head.

“You don’t have to look so smug.”

* * *

On the first day of autumn, Corrin knelt in the garden at the base of Mount Krakenburg, surrounded by several of her siblings. At Corrin’s right side, Camilla was weaving roses into a vibrant circlet as a gift to send to Elise, and on her left, Azura hummed with quiet laughter and Hinoka flat-out cackled as Sakura tried to affix a yellow rose to the crest of Takumi’s ponytail. He crossed his arms but didn’t look entirely displeased. The sun peered over the distant horizon, sending streaks of gold, peach, and blush pink across the dim morning sky, and as the season’s first cool breeze sifted through Corrin’s hair, a warm and wistful pang pricked her chest.

_I’m going to miss this beautiful place for the next several months._

As if she’d read her mind, Azura raised her head and met Corrin’s eyes with a soft smile. “I’m going to miss you.”

“S-so will I,” said Sakura.

“I’ll miss you too,” Corrin said. “But it won’t be forever.”

Camilla smiled as she finished weaving the last rose into place on her circlet. “That’s right. We’ll visit you very soon.”

Corrin trailed her hands absently through the soft grass, remembering the sensation of Leo’s hair against her fingers. “Not… too soon. If you don’t want to,” she started. She saw Hinoka raise an eyebrow, and heat crept into her face. “I mean, you’re all busy with your work, and Leo is too—and _I_ am, for that matter—and besides, we did just drop in a couple of weeks ago, and…” She trailed off. _I’m as transparent as a ghost right now, aren’t I?_ In actuality, she was as crimson as a pomegranate.

Takumi cleared his throat. “If you’re not too busy, try to remind your—what do I even call him? Your brother? Husband?” He cocked his head. “How does that even work?”

“It’s…” Corrin stopped. It was difficult to understand completely, and entirely impossible to put into words that anyone else would understand. How she cherished her memories of growing up with Leo as her adorable little brother and the innocent affection she felt for him, and how that affection and her love for Leo the man were so different, separate, yet inextricable. Finally, she shrugged her shoulders and said, “It’s hard to explain. What were you wanting me to remind him about, Takumi?”

“He needs to hurry up and finish those books I lent him,” he said.

“Don’t worry, I’ll tell him,” said Corrin.

Camilla beamed at Takumi. Under the rosy hues of dawn, surrounded by the sweet scent of flowers, she looked ethereal and completely content. “It’s so nice that you and Leo are getting to be good friends now. After all, you have so much in common.”

Takumi crossed his arms more rigidly across his chest. “He just has decent taste in history books, that’s all.”

“Of course, darling,” said Camilla. She leaned forward and ruffled his hair, knocking the rose in his ponytail askew.

His sisters burst into fresh laughter, and Corrin felt the uncomfortable heat begin to drain from her face. Until Sakura met her eyes with the most adorable “don’t think I’ve forgotten just yet” smile that Corrin had ever been subjected to. When your most innocent sibling was blatantly aware that you were fantasizing about mashing faces with a certain lord of the Underworld—possibly sans a few articles of clothing—you knew you were being way too obvious for your own good.

Embarrassment flooded back into Corrin’s face, warming her to the tips of her ears. _O ground, please swallow me up._

It took another few minutes before that happened. As Corrin and the others joked and laughed, a massive shape, as black as the night, burst out of the earth with a celebratory explosion of dirt. A familiar face protruded from the chariot as Odin waved his spell hand and proclaimed, “Your dark chariot awaits, milady!”

Corrin embraced each of her siblings one more time, and Camilla passed her the rose circlet that she’d made for Elise. “Oh, and tell Leo that I’m not ignoring him, of course,” her older sister said with a fond smile. “I just figured that he wouldn’t want a pretty flower crown.”

Corrin laughed. “You’re probably right. Tell Xander and Ryoma that I said goodbye again, and good luck with all their work.”

“Absolutely, darling. And don’t forget to tell Leo about—”

“Of course!” As Odin helped her into the chariot, she smiled and called another farewell to her family aboveground. She didn’t stop waving until the last pink and yellow roses in the garden faded from sight, and she reentered Leo’s world awash with darkness.

* * *

“You’re pacing.”

“No, I’m not.”

Elise propped her hands on her hips. “Leo, you’re literally walking around in circles right now. You can’t exactly deny it.”

Leo stopped still, even though every nerve in his body was urging him to keep walking. As if that would somehow hasten Corrin’s return. Internally, Leo cursed the lack of logic in that idea. He’d turned into an antsy fool, just waiting for his… his _wife_ to come back to their palace.

Elise giggled as she stood by his side, just inside the front entrance. “It’s okay, I really miss Corrin too. But she’ll be here really soon! And then, we can catch up and we can play tag and hide-and-seek—ooh, it’ll be super challenging to play that here!—and then we can…”

Leo tuned her out for the sake of his sanity. If only the statue that Odin had dubbed Cerberus was a real dog—then, it could have distracted Elise for at least a few fleeting minutes once Corrin arrived. He pondered the logistics of bringing a puppy to the Underworld, and if the equation of “Elise + puppy” would end up bringing more trouble than benefits. Most likely.

He was only shaken out of his thoughts by Elise’s elated shriek. She threw open the door as Leo’s retainers returned with… “Corrin, Corrin, _Corriiiin_!”

Elise’s voice crescendoed until she was nearly shouting, but as Corrin crossed the threshold into the palace of the Underworld, Leo was overcome by a sense of quiet. A sweeping feeling of warmth, like every question he’d ever had was no longer unanswered, or the answers were suddenly unnecessary. She met his gaze and smiled, and her eyes were red like the calm stillness of a sunrise. His ring glinted on her finger as she raised her hand in a gentle wave, and his heart pounded against his ribcage like it wanted to burst free to greet her. She was here. She’d returned to stand by his side.

Before he could move toward Corrin, Elise nearly tackled her in a hug. She’d stopped shrieking, but now the words were flooding out of her mouth so quickly that Leo couldn’t follow. Corrin planted a colorful crown of roses in her hair, and Elise’s face lit up with glee. She was still clinging to Corrin’s waist, with a grip so tight that it didn’t look like she’d let go anytime in the near future.

Leo exhaled slowly, quietly, as his retainers came to his side. “Niles,” he murmured, “tell me that you’re allergic to dogs.”

“But I’m not,” said Niles.

“Tell me that you are anyway,” Leo said. “Otherwise, I’m on the verge of making a terrible mistake.”

Niles looked bemused. “All right,” he said. “I am terribly allergic to dogs, milord. So allergic, in fact, that if I come within a ten-foot pole’s reach of one, I’ll fall over and die on the spot.”

He sighed. “Thank you, Niles.”

Odin chuckled. Then, he stepped forward and tapped Elise on the shoulder. “Lady Elise? I was wondering if I might regale you with the tales of the epic exploits that we undertook on our quest!”

Elise’s gaze slowly shifted away from Corrin, her eyes wide and curious. “What kind of exploits?”

“As I said—epic ones! Sagas of thrilling adventure, hilarious hijinks…” Odin lowered his voice into a conspiratorial murmur. “And even unicorns.”

“Oh, wow! Really?” Elise released Corrin and turned around, bouncing on her toes. “You have to tell me all about it!”

“Of course, milady. But alas, not here.” Odin glanced over at Corrin and grinned. “You see, the heroic ventures detailed in this tale should only be uttered in a chamber with good acoustics. Like the great hall. So I shall escort you there before I tell you of our legend.” He motioned to his fellow retainer. “Niles, I need your help acting out the legend.”

“Uh… of course.”

And just like that, Leo was left alone in the atrium with Corrin. “That was… unexpected,” he said. Now that Elise and her chatter had vanished, the room was so quiet that even his normal speaking volume seemed too loud. “I didn’t tell him to do that.”

Corrin laughed softly as she drew closer, an impish smile spreading across her face. “No, but I bribed him on the chariot ride here.”

A surprised laugh burst out of his mouth. “You did?”

She tilted her chin up and nodded, one corner of her lips lifted slightly higher than the other. “He didn’t even hesitate. Not that I figured he would, since he lost that bet with Niles before.”

Under the amber torchlight, her eyes glittered with pride. Leo hadn’t been so dumbfounded by her since… well, since she’d eaten the pomegranate. Or since she’d declared herself the queen of hell, perched herself on Leo’s throne, and condemned Iago to the Fields of Punishment. Never let it be said that Corrin wasn’t loving or kind, but she was also willful. And that willfulness occasionally manifested in a form of wickedness that Leo was significantly more interested in than he might’ve liked to admit. He ran his tongue across his lips half-consciously.

Corrin draped her arms around his shoulders and gazed into his eyes, so close that he could nearly—nearly, but not quite—feel her breath against his lips. “So,” she said softly, “how are you?”

“I’m doing well,” Leo said reflexively.

“Honestly?”

He twined his arms around her waist, his palms melding seamlessly against the small of her back. “Undoubtedly. After all… you’re here.”

“I am. And I’m not planning on leaving again for a long while.”

Corrin’s smile was so broad that it crinkled her nose and the corners of her eyes. So genuine, so unrestrained, that Leo’s breath left his lungs in a quiet rush. He lifted his fingers to cup her cheek and felt the corner of her lips tickle his palm as she giggled. _“You’re so beautiful that it kills me,”_ he’d told her, but maybe it was the opposite. Even after an early wake-up call, a strenuous morning of work, and the tension of waiting for her return—Corrin’s smile coaxed life back into his veins so effortlessly.

He leaned forward and kissed her. It was only a peck, because pecks had become habit out of necessity. During the summer, after Corrin’s return to the world above, it was the only thing they had time for when she and the others visited the Underworld. There were always people hovering around—Camilla fawning over her precious Corrin, or Takumi wanting to borrow a book, or Elise seeking out another tickle fight that usually ended with her and Corrin ganging up on Leo until he laughed so hard that he couldn’t breathe. They had never really gotten more than a few sparse seconds to be alone.

Corrin smiled. “You know, Leo, they’re gone now. You can really, actually kiss me now.”

“Is that a request?”

“Hmm. More of a demand, really.” Her fingers tightened in the fabric of his collar, and he definitely felt alive. Alive, awake, and aware of every rose-colored fleck in her eyes as she drew him against her and pressed her mouth to his again.

She didn’t taste like pomegranates this time, but like warmth and light and a dozen other abstract things that Leo knew, on a conscious level, a person couldn’t actually taste like. Her hair smelled of roses and the wind of the Underworld, and his fingers snagged in a tangle from the chariot ride. He tried to pull away so he could gently free his hand without hurting her, but Corrin maintained her grip on his collar and kissed him more fiercely—her lips and hands combining to make a message that, although unintelligible, he understood perfectly.

She was so close that he could feel the drumming song of her heart against his chest. And its tempo was the same as his.

When Corrin ended the kiss, she did so suddenly, with a sharp “oh!” Leo took a step back, wary that he’d done something wrong. He opened his mouth, but Corrin cut him off, and he realized that her swollen lips were curved into a smile.

“I was supposed to tell you something,” she said. The syllables came out rushed, only interrupted by her breathing, slightly heavier than normal. “Xander and Camilla… They wanted me to tell you. We’ve figured something out.”

She hadn’t even explained yet, but Leo’s heart leaped in premature hope.

“Of course,” she said, “there’s going to have to be an extensive screening process, because you can’t just let anyone do a job like this, but…” She beamed. “Leo, you can take breaks. You can come back to Castle Krakenburg and see everyone, without worrying about falling behind.”

“How…?” Leo took a moment to collect himself. To wrap his mind around the concept of being able to return to Nohr, to Krakenburg, with Corrin and their family. “How long before this takes effect?”

“Xander figures he’ll have at least one or two substitutes lined up before spring starts.” Corrin nudged his arm, still wearing that irrepressible grin. “Don’t worry, though—I bet they can’t pull off the sexy cloak like you can.”

A quiet, short, shrill sound emitted from Leo’s throat. He wasn’t sure how to describe it, other than “embarrassing.” Heat stormed into his face and seemed intent on setting up permanent residence there.

Corrin swore softly. “Sorry, sorry, that was too much, wasn’t it?”

Leo shook his head. It might have been more convincing if he hadn’t been a garish shade of red, or if he’d actually been able to summon coherent words. “No, I… Um. Depends?”

“Depends on what?” she asked.

He glanced at the door leading out into the corridor. “How long is Odin’s unicorn adventure story?”

Corrin shrugged. “No idea. He could probably go on for a while.” She hesitated. “Why?” He couldn’t determine if she was blushing or if the rosy glow across her face was a trick of the torchlight.

“Because…” Leo turned to face the wall—practically pressing his head against it—because there was no way he could say something like this with a straight face, while looking Corrin right in the eyes. “You could probably… pull off my cloak just fine.”

“Wha…? Leo!” she exclaimed. “You’re the worst!”

He turned back around, though he still didn’t meet Corrin’s eyes. “How am I the worst? Have you met Niles?”

“Yes, and obviously you’ve both been trapped here way too long.”

Her wording sparked something in his mind. The realization sent fresh warmth seeping into his chest.

“What?” said Corrin.

“It’s strange,” he said quietly. “I don’t feel like ‘trapped’ is the right word any longer.” He shook his head and smiled. “I felt like this place was a prison sentence for years, but… you know, showing you around made me see it all over again. Don’t get me wrong, the work can still be draining, but the Underworld can also be… Well, as you said before—it doesn’t have to be so dark.”

He laced his fingers through Corrin’s, silently savoring the warmth of her palm against his. He drew her along after him as he propped open the door that led into the palace’s main corridor. He heard Corrin catch her breath. “Leo…”

The walls had been painted a pale shade of rosy beige, the winding corridor newly adorned with paintings and the occasional potted plant. Torches still hung on the walls, but the shadows they cast didn’t look half as threatening against the new décor. Leo watched Corrin’s face as she took it all in. Her eyes were wide, and her mouth curled into a toothy grin.

“Leo, this is… wow. Did you three do all of this since the last time we visited?”

He gave a small nod. “I wanted to do something to welcome you back. The rest of the place could still use a lot more work, but—”

Corrin cut him off by flinging her arms around his shoulders in a hug that sent him stumbling back into the nearest wall. “You,” she said, emphasizing the word with a squeeze, “are the most adorable person ever!”

Leo fought back a smile. “Downgraded from sexy to adorable. I’m unsure how to feel about that.”

“They don’t have to be mutually exclusive.”

The sudden change in Corrin’s tone caught him off guard, and he only anticipated her next kiss an instant before it happened. It was harder, deeper, invigorating as water and consuming as flame. Leo’s mind swam with pleasure as he pulled her flush against him, and he felt the painted stone of the wall pressing against his shoulderblades. If he’d been less invested in the kiss, or if he’d had a more Niles-like sense of humor, he might have taken the opportunity to make a “rock/hard place” joke, but his wordplay wasn’t in peak condition at the moment.

He only retreated from the kiss once he remembered that Elise, Odin, and Niles were in the great hall not too far from their current location. Corrin seemed to remember the same thing, because she lowered her head and flushed.

“Sorry,” she said, the word distorted by a giggle. “I really did miss you.”

Leo’s knees felt less than solid as he stepped away from the wall, and he reached for her hand once more. “Never, ever apologize for that again.”

Corrin smiled, wide enough to dimple her cheeks, and if Leo hadn’t already known that he was going to love her for the rest of his life, he would have realized it then. “Okay,” she said and squeezed his hand. There was a _promise_ in that squeeze that made his pulse throb. “I’ll do my best.”

And they moved forward through the new brightness of the corridor, their hands clasped and Leo’s head still spinning. People claimed that love could make even the brightest souls into fools, and Leo didn’t disbelieve it. If only a fool could be persuaded to sacrifice the sunlight for half the year in favor of the Underworld, Corrin was exceptionally foolish. And if Leo became so ridiculously giddy at the mere sight of her smile and the warmth of her hand inside his, he had to be the greatest fool of all.

_But_ —and he hardly even hesitated to think this— _maybe it’s all right, if we’re fools together. Together,_ he thought, and the word still rang like a miracle in his head.

Together—the lord and lady of the Underworld, a kingdom of darkness and light, death and eternal life, bleakness and great beauty intertwined. And someday, when spring swept over the earth again, Leo would still walk hand-in-hand with Corrin like this, as he stepped into the illuminated world above once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "This is it... our final battle." I-I mean, chapter! Endings are always hard for me to write, and that includes final author's notes. It doesn't help that I just woke up, and sleepy Liv rambles a lot. Kinda like she's doing now. Or, _I'm_ doing now...
> 
> So I got the idea for this story a while back, but I started actually working on it during the final weeks of my summer vacation. At first, I was just working on it for fun (and as a way of procrastinating on my original fiction, as usual), but I realized pretty quickly that it could actually work as a story. Maybe even a story that other people might want to read.
> 
> I didn't expect many people to read it, though, so this has been such a great surprise. Getting to share my words with people makes me really happy, and the fact that I've had so many wonderful people commenting on this story ( _complimenting_ this story!) was amazing. It was always nice to sit down after a rough day and see that I'd gotten a new kudos or comment. Seriously, you guys make me smile so much that my cheeks hurt. Kudos to _you_ for being such great readers.
> 
> I definitely want to write more for this fandom (and, okay, this ship because it's ruined my life, and plus they're just fun to write) someday, though right now, I'm trying to actually work on my original writing, and school's getting to that tricky part in the semester where everything is "ugh." Not to mention that I do have an idea, but it will require a lot of outlining and such--so it would take a while. Maybe over my next long break from classes, I'll have time to write? We'll see.
> 
> Anyway... I guess this is it. It's been great sharing this story with you, so for the last time... I hope you enjoyed this chapter of _Petals and Pomegranates_! And thank you so much for reading~! :)


End file.
